The End Of Azeroth
by xxDeusExMachinaxx
Summary: With the death of the Lich King, the Horde and Alliance have enjoyed a long semi-peacful life. But a new evil approaches. An evil greater than anything they have ever faced; An evil that could destroy Azeroth. Will they unite and survive or die divided?
1. Seeking Out A Legend

(**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This story takes place AFTER Brothers In Arms (my other story) but should be read BEFORE Brothers In Arms. That story is meant to be a sort of prequel to this story. I'm going to pull Brothers In Arms down, finish this one, and then REdo Brothers In Arms. Now that that is out of the way, enjoy this story!

The End Of Azeroth: Attack Of The Destroyer

Chapter 1: Seeking out a Legend

Several years have passed since the Lich King and his allies were vanquished in Northrend. With no more common enemies, the Horde and Alliance returned to their constant battling, though due to friendships made between the factions over the years the fighting is not as brutal and hateful as it once was. In fact, many cross faction relationships have been forged and the halfling(children of two different races and/or factions) population is at an all-time high. But, unknowingly to the denizens of Azeroth, an evil looms ever so closely. A familiar evil that brings a threat more devastating and horrifying than they could ever imagine…

Draggar rode a black bear fitted with red armor through the streets of Orgrimmar. He was heading towards Grommash Hold to deliver to Thrall news of his victory in Alterac Valley. Draggar arrived at Thrall's chamber's within the Valley of Wisdom and left his bear outside. The young orc then walked into the throne room and saluted to the Warchief.

"Lord Thrall, I bring great news! I have come to announce the victory of my forces within Alterac Valley!" Dragazar announced in a proud voice. Such an accomplishment was very impressive for an orc as young as him. He had barely come of age, yet he was a respected Senior Sergeant of the Horde army.

"I am very pleased to hear of your victory young one. You are truly Draggo Dragonblade's son…" Thrall praised the young orc as he sat in his Throne. Draggo Dragonblade was a great hero not only in the eyes of the Horde, but the eyes of the alliance as well. He had fought heroically at the Black Temple against Illidan, at the Sunwell against Kil'jaeden, and was even part of the small group that vanquished the Lich King in Northrend.

His relatively small clan, the Dragonblade orcs, are also known for being a very strong, noble, and courageous clan of orcs. It is even said that this clan was once entrusted by Thrall to go and complete special tasks that he could not entrust to his official army. Though this has never been proven, many Dragonblade have grown to be formidable and honorable warriors nonetheless.

Thrall gazed upon the young orc. Perhaps orc was not the proper term to use. Though he favored his father's orc-esque physique and appearance,for the most part, he was still half draenei. His skin was more of a darkish blue rather than green and his eyes were a piercing solid whitish blue. His draenei blood also gave him a much softer look than the average orc. He received much ridicule for being a 'cursed' or 'disgraceful' birth, but his father and his clan's legacy, along with Draggar's own resume, spoke for itself. Many believed it was his halfling blood that gave Draggar his masterful skill as a warrior while many others believe he simply takes after his father.

"Does something trouble you Warchief? You seem…distracted." asked Draggar as he gave Thrall an odd look. Thrall seemed rather distracted and distant. Draggar had been in the Warchief's presence before and had never seen him in such a state.

"Draggar I need to speak with your father. Go and seek him out for me." Thrall said suddenly in a almost panicked tone.

"But, Lord Thrall, I have orders to head out to-"

"Forget your orders. If anyone asks what happened of you, they will have to come see me." Thrall stated in a rather booming and demanding voice.

"Yes Warchief, as you command…" Draggar said as he saluted Thrall one last time before exiting the hold. Still perplexed by Thrall's strange behavior, Draggar mounted his bear and set out to find his father. He knew exactly where he could find his father as well. He was in a sort of 'retirement' mode. Though he would occasionally go on a mission every so often, Draggo was often with his wife, Draggo's mother, Kanya, and Draggo's younger sister, Velemere, at his home on an island he found off the coast of eastern Durotar with just enough fertile landscape for his small family to thrive.

Draggar procured a boat from a local fisherman and ventured out to the small island. It was beautiful place filled with verdant green grass and tall tropical trees and great soil for farming. It was the perfect spot for a family. Draggo stepped onto the island as childhood memories flooded his mind. He even reminisced about an incident he had where he had fallen out of a tree as a young boy and obtained his first 'battle scar' as he called it back then as he passed by the tree again. Though he was much larger and stronger than he was as a child, he was still slightly intimidated by the tree. With a smirk of amusement Draggar strolled through the tree towards the house on the center of the island.

The first person to greet Draggar was his mother who had been exiting a house for one of her 'spirit walks'. Draggar wasn't a shaman like his mother and could never really grasp her connection with the elements. Whenever he asked her she would always laugh and say "You may not understand the spirits, but they understand you". She was considered by many people of all races an absolute beauty. She had smooth, soft, ebony blue skin and a muscular, yet petite body(many people underestimated her ability to fight and paid the price). Her face was perfectly sculpted down to every last curve. Her horns swayed backwards on her head slightly tipping upwards at the tips. Her jet black hair flowed down the top portion her back and hung neatly over her left eye. Though she was quite aged like her husband, no one would have been able to guess it.

Kanya greeted her son with a hug and a kiss that only a mother could give to her child. "Draggar! Oh, how I have missed you my son! How have you been?" she cooed.

"Fine mother. I just returned from Alterac Valley-"

"Oh Draggo you know how I detest these tales!" Kanya scolded as she waved her finger in Draggar's face in a motherly fashion. Draggar rolled his eyes. No matter what he did, who he killed, or what he accomplished he was always seen by his mother as a young child.

"How are we ever to achieve peace if the Horde and Alliance are to kill each other every five minutes.?" ranted Kanya.

"Mother, you know you we fight for peace. All Thrall ever wanted was to be at peace with the Alliance. I may like the excitement of battle, but I do want peace and that's what I'm fighting for." Draggo explained. These kinds of speeches were the only way to get his mother off his case. She gave him a judging glance.

"Right…What brings you here, my son?"

"Yes, I'm actually here on business-"

"Of course you are. You don't come to visit just to see us."

"Mother…" Draggo said in a slight growl.

Kanya put her hands up acknowledging her son's annoyance.

"Thrall wishes to see him."

"Very well…Your father's outback dealing with the crops. Follow me." Kanya sighed gesturing towards the rear of the house.

The first sight Draggar saw was not his father, but his sister, Velemere, playing with Frostwing, a prized deep blue proto-drake that Daggo had claimed in Northrend. This proto-drake was very unique. Unlike most proto drakes, it's arms were large and bulky. It also had large spikes lining it's spine from it's head to it's tail, aside from a small spot on his back where the saddle was. Draggar had been told that spikes had stop growing there after being repeatedly removed from the drake by it's previous owner. The drake was also much larger than an average proto-drake and maintained a more beastial appearance. It's wing span was longer and ths tips of it's wing had icle like claws. It's leg were bulging with muscles and it's thick blue talons dug deep within the earth. It's fangs were slightly longer than the usual proto-drake and it's piercing yellow eyes alone could make some of the bravest warriors quiver in their boots. Although the drake was intimidating to most, to it's owners it was a kind, gentle, and caring pet that Draggo had kept over the years. Velemere loved to ride around on Frostwing's back as he trotted around and always begged her family to let her ride it, but they always told her it was too dangerous.

"Draggar!" cheered Velemere as she spotted her brother. She hopped off Frostwing's back and dashed for her brother. Draggar picked up his beloved sister in his arms and hugged her. Velemere was much younger than her brother; she was a mere adolescent. Though she too was a halfling, she appeared to be an average draenei girl with the exception that her skin was slightly green. In fact, aside from a few minor facial differences, her pigtails, and a different horn orientation(her horns pointed upwards as oppose to backwards)she looked just like her mother. She would not receive as much mockery as her brother for such features and her family was grateful.

"Guess what brother! Mommy's been teachin' me how at be a shaman! Wanna see?" asked a jubilant Velemere. Draggar turned to his mother with a shocked expression. She simply nodded with a large grin on her face. Draggar had never heard of a one so young learning the ways of a shaman.

_Velemre's got a bright destiny ahead of her _thought Draggo as he smiled at his sister.

"Let's see what Mom's taught ya." Draggar said.

Velemere gave Draggar a heavy nod and ran over to a nearby puddle. Velemere held out her hands and began to let out stressful grunts as a small orb of water rose from the puddle and swirled around before collapsing and falling back into the puddle.

"Did ya see that Draggy!? Mommy's been teaching me how to talk to the spirits! They let me do all kinds of cool things if I ask 'em real nice!" Velemere said as she hopped around excited by her shamanistic ability.

"Yea Vel I saw it." Draggar chuckled. While Draggar was distracted a familiar slimy tongue began to slither it's way all over his face.

"Yea I didn't forget you either old friend." Draggar laughed as he rubbed his hand across Frostwing's head. The mighty beast purred like a kitten.

"What's all of this commotion I'm hearin'?" called out a voice Draggar knew all too well. He turned to see his father emerge from a field and saw the large smile spread across his face. Though age had slowly begun to wrap it's itself around his father, he still bore a strong resemblance to his youthful self.

"Draggar, my son, it is good to see you again! How have you been?" Draggo exclaimed a he embraced his son with a fatherly passion.

"It is good to see you father. I recently returned from a victory in Alterac-" Draggar could feel his mother glaring him down from behind him.

"Alterca Valley you say? Good on ya boy!" Draggo laughed as he slammed his heavy hand on his sin's back. Age had had little to no effect on his strength, that's for sure.

"Draggo, don't encourage him!" snapped Kanya.

"What? The boy's taking after me and my father. I named him after my father for a reason. I knew he would be a great warrior!" Draggo replied in a triumphnat tone. "So what brings my son back home?"

"Thrall wishes to see you father. He sent me to retrieve you." Draggar said.

"Oh really. I'm sure it's just some minor business. I will go to see him soon." Draggo said.

"Father Thrall was acting very strange. I think it is urgent."

Draggo released a heavy and annoyed sigh. He hated the thought of going on another dull mission. He knew he was never assigned anything important, so he dreaded the thought of being called back for some tiny annoyance. He rather spend his time at home caring for his family. Regardless of his feelings, He was a member of the Horde and when duty called, he answered.

"Very well. I'll leave now." Draggo sighed as he turned to Frostwing. The drake kneeled before it's master as Draggo approached. Once saddled onto the drake, Draggo told his family he would return shortly and then he lifted off into the skies. Velemere folded her arms in frustration as she often did when anyone but her got to fly her beloved Frostwing

"This is why I left the Alliance." hissed Kanya in an agitated tone. She hated these missions as much as Draggo did. She couldn't bear the thought of losing any more loved ones to violence and war. Draggo was indeed the reason that she left the Alliance. If she could not be with the man she loved because of a faction's ideals and morals, she would not belong to that faction.

"I will go too mother. I'm curious to see what's going on." Draggar said in a suspicious tone. He gave his mother and his sister hugs and kisses before leaving for his boat that would take him back to the mainland.

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As Draggar approached Grommash Hold, his father walked out with a very disturbed, yet serious look on his face. Draggar immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Father, what did Thrall wish to speak to you about?" Draggar asked.

"Thrall has ordered a meeting of his most trusted advisors and warriors along to meet with some of the most notable members of the Alliance. He wouldn't tell me what is happening but it's big." Draggo said, continuing to walk at a rushed pace.

"How big?"

"By the tone of his voice and his odd actions, I would say end of the world big..." Draggo said in a slightly fearful tone.


	2. Bad News

Chapter 2: Bad News

It was early night as Draggo prepared to venture out to the meeting. He was wearing Dragon's Might, the might armor of his clan. It was darkish blue color with intricate dragon designs delicately carved into the metal. The gauntlets and boots resembled the paws of dragons, claws and all. The hauberk appeared to be the scaly under belly of a dragon. In the center was the symbol of his clan, a Dragon's head with two crossing swords behind it. His huge shoulder pads were shaped as dragon heads with glowing blue eyes. The helm also resembled the top half of a dragon's head with two slots where the eyes would be for the bearer of the armor to look through, although Draggo didn't wear his helmet most of the time, he simply strapped it to his belt and only wore it in desperate situations.

He had also equipped his weapons, Dragon Strike and Dragon Guard. Dragon Strike was a beautiful sword crafted by some of the most brilliantly blacksmith's to ever live. It's color matched the midnight blue armor Dragon's Might. It's blade was long, thick, and as sturdy as diamond. It was decorated with dragon designs similar to the armor and bore the Dragonblade insignia in the middle. The hilt was a vicious looking Dragon head with it's mouth wrapped around the blade, fangs and all. It's eye glowed blue with mystic gems. Where the dragon's mouth met the blade, two large wings jutted from either side as hand guards. The pommel of the sword was a glowing blue gem fabled to contain a dragon's spirit within. The blade also had the ability to be split into two blades.

Dragon's Guard was another great work. It was an enhanced version of the Dragonblade insignia. It was a large shield, covering Draggo's entire back and then some. The Dragon's eye's held gems similar to that of the gems in Dragon Strike. Dragon's Might, Dragon Strike, and Dragon Guard were alll mystically enchanted said to grant the wearer the strength of a full fledged dragon.

"Father please let me come with you." pleaded Draggar as his father walked past him.

"No Draggar. I respect your courage but something big is happening. You may be a very capable warrior but something about this… You're in over your head…Stay here with your mother and sister I will return by tomorrow." Draggo said as he hopped on top of Frostwing.

"But father if it is something this big you will need all the help you can get!" Draggar begged.

"Draggar, we will be perfectly capable on our own. Please do not push me. Stay here." Draggo said, his voice becoming slightly more intense. With that he waved goodbye and soared into the skies.

"If only I knew where he was going…" grumbled Draggar.

"Don't even think about it Draggar… I know you're just as bold and adventurous as your father, but you're also just as reckless. Now come inside, It's getting chilly." said Kanaya as she walked her son to the cabin.

The meeting was being held in the Alterac Mountains at a former battleground. The Horde and Alliance forces met in the middle of a former war zone. Leading the Horde was Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Lor'themar Theron. At the head of the Alliance group was Varian Wyrnn, Magni Bronzebeard, Tyrande Whisperwind, and Velen. Apparently worried of an ambush, the Alliance had not only brought their greatest heroes, but some reinforcments as well. Among the Horde, Draggo had met up with his old friends, the leaders of the Wrathchild. Wrathchild was a guild within the Horde formed by several companions who had become great warriors of the Horde and were well respected through the lands. They were originally a small group of just them, but they branched out and recruited many more warriors, though the leaders are always referred to as 'the' Wratchildren. These members include Fenron, a tauren druid that was Draggo's childhood friend, Crether, a Forsaken rogue who had aided Draggo in his journeys, and Drek'val, a troll shaman that had swore his life to Draggo after being saved by the orc. The Wratchildren marched boldly towards the Alliance fleet.

"What is it you want, Horde?" snarled Varian. He didn't seemed very pleased to have been called out to the mountains by his enemy.

"I swear I mean the Alliance no harm in this act." Thrall said as peacefully as possible.

"Then what is it ye be wanting from us then?" barked Bronzebeard.

"I realize we have had our differences but there is a threat coming that is forcing us to put our differences aside." Thrall stated.

"I'm am being forced by nothing. Get to the point. Why have you called me and my heroes here." Varian Wyrnn hissed.

" Very well." growled a slightly angered Thrall. "I have come to warn the Alliance of the approach of none other than Sargeras, The Destroyer of Worlds."

Gasps and whispers broke out amongst both sides. Even Draggo was shocked. The Demon Lord was coming here, to Azeroth! It was inconceivable.

"From where did you obtain this knowledge?" Asked a more curious rather the rude Varian.

"Do not listen to his treachery Varian! This is absurd!" grumbled Bronzebeard.

"No Bronzebeard…This subject is not something to be taken lightly. The Horde would not come up with something this…outrageous, unless they were serious…Hear him out." proposed Velen.

"The Titans spoke to me… They warned me of his approach and told me to gather the mightiest warriors of Azeroth…Alliance included." Thrall said in a deep tone.

"What!? The Titan's spoke to _you_!?" hollered Bronzebeard.

"Indeed…and told me to gather the warriors here…tonight…" said Thrall in a mysterious tone. Before anyone else could make any outburst's a bright light burst from the heavens, cascading on all within the mountains. An indescribable voice echoed throughout the valley.

"Warriors of Azeroth, heed my call! I am Aman'thul, The Highfather of the Pantheon!" said Aman'thul through the light. "Thrall speaks the truth. Sargeras is coming…and he will destroy your world unless you stop it."

"Why must we stop it? You are the Pantheon, why can't you do it? Sargeras was one of you, you should have to deal with it not us!" yelled an infuriated human. Similar outburst broke out from both sides against the Titan. Suddenly the air become thick and the voice become the pure essence of anger striking fear into the boldest soldiers.

"Silence mortals! You can not _**begin **_to understand the ways of the Pantheon! By merely intervening in this affair we are jeopardizing the very fabric of your world!" called the voice. "Listen to my words. You must put your petty differences aside! Sargeras _is _coming and neither of us can stop him alone. You must summon your mightiest warriors and defend yourselves against this threat for there will harbingers of his arrivals…And they shall be arriving in your world shortly. Wait, and we shall aid you in your fight against the The Destroyer…" called the voice in an ominous tone. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, the entity dissipated within the skies.

The forces of the Horde and the Alliance stood in shock and awe trying to comprehend what had just happened. Was this really the end of their world? How could they stand up against a force as immense and immeasurable as Sargeras?

Before anyone had time to react an immensely large black mass erupted from the ground and black rays of darkness swirled through the air around it. Both the Horde and Alliance readied their weapons.

"What sorcery is this Horde!?" yelled Tyrande.

"I assure you this is not our doing" Thrall shouted fearing that there was only one option left...


	3. The Harbingers

Chapter 3: The Harbingers

A pale white clawed hand shot out from black abyss and grasped the edge of the portal. It's wrist was wrapped in some kind of jeweled shackle. Another hand came out and grasped the other side of the portal. Then, the ghastly looking dread lord yanked himself from the portal releasing a viscous vampiric howl. He didn't look like an average dread lord. He was much larger, slightly smaller than a devilsaur, and his muscles were abnormally large. He was brutishly hunched over and his muscles bulging out from his beastly armor. His face was much more demonic than a typical dread lord. His horns were jagged and unruly and he had multiple slobbery fangs going up and down his crisp lips. This was no ordinary dreadlord. A look of sinister satisfaction corrupted his face as he saw the Horde and Alliance. Several more similar dreadlords erupted from the portal before their apparent leader exited the portal. He was larger than the typical dread lord, but not as burly and monstrous as the others, but his armor was much more extravagant and a dark aura engulfed him. His face was indescribably horrific looking. His claws, fangs, and claws were surprisingly long and jagged and his wings stretched wide with sharp tips and rips in the membrane

"I have returned!" called a horrific demonic voice as the leading dread lord hovered above his underlings.

"It is I, Varimathras! I bet you thought you were rid of me didn't you foolish mortals!" howled the dreadlord as he faced the Horde. Sylvanas step forward gripping her bow tightly.

'Varimathras you chaniving bastard! You were killed after your and that traitor Putress-"

"Shut your tongue you wench! I can't belive I spent all those miserable years in that damn sinkhole just to be killed by you and your miserable allies!…Well…_almost _killed." snickered the dreadlord.

"A sliver of my entity survived and was brought back to my realm where I was reborn into my new perfected form by my most generous master! His only request is that I rid you miserable mortals of this pitiful dump you call a world…I was more than happy to oblige!" roared Varimathras.

"Attack my minions! Show these miserable creatures the true force of the Nathrezim! Kill them _**all**_!" commanded Varimathras. On cue, the dreadlord brutes charged into the Horde and Alliance forces, running like apes using their large gangly arms to thrust themselves forward.

"Horde! Send these wretched demons back to the hell hole they crawled from!" boomed Thrall as he charged with his forces.

"Alliance, let's show these demons that mortals are not a breed to be trifled with!" yelled Varian as him and his forces assaulted the demons.

Though the rest of the Horde was fighting the demons, Sylvanas had charged past the brutes and assaulted Varimathras alone.

"I should have killed you all those years ago. I will now make up for that mistake!" snapped Sylavanas as she quickly shot an enchanted arrow at the dread lord. Varimathras shot a black energy blast at the arrows, vaporizing it.

"I will now have my revenge on you, you wicked wbanshee, for all those years of torment you put me through!" growled Varimathras as he soared down at the Banshee Queen. Although she was fast, he was faster, and snatched her up from the ground and ascended in to the air, his gnarly claws wrapped around her throat.

"Now feel my wrath you wicked tramp!" roared the dread lord as he dug his fans deep within Sylvanas' neck. Thick black ooze burst from her neck as she let out a scream of pain. Varimathras tossed her back down to the ground. Though wounded, Sylvanas was still battle capable, though Forsaken surrounded her and pleaded with her to allow them to assist with the fight. Sylvanas proudly declined and assaulted Varimathras again with arrows that he easily dispatched. Varimathras dove down into the ground, his clawed hooves digging deep within the snowy earth.

"You have no hope of defeating me Banshee Queen. The powers have shifted…I will kill you." Varimathras scoffed. Angered, Sylvanas charged with her sword raised and swung it swiftly at the drealord he easily dodged the attacks. His vicious claws began to swing at her relentlessly. It took every bit if strength and speed for Sylvanas to defend against the attack.

"Very good…Now let me show you my true power!" growled Varimathras as a large black mass of shadow blasted Sylvanas backwards several yards. The Banshee queen was out cold.

The forces of the Horde and the Alliance had not been fairing too well either. These enhanced dreadlords were seemingly unstoppable. No matter what hit them, they kept attacking more furious than ever. Draggo had been in just as much trouble as the others. He was facing down one of the brutes. It was sloppy but quick, and Draggo was able to land many blows on it, though it seemed to have little effect. Enraged by the dread lords resilience, Draggo charged, shield and sword raised. The dread lord swung it's massive fist at Draggo, but the orc knocked it's fist to the side and hacked his blade deep within the beast's arm, wedging his sword deep within it's pale skin. It flung it's arm upwards, bringing Draggo up with it. Attempting to dislodge Draggo from his arm, the dread lord swung his other clawed hand at Draggo who smashed his claws with his shield and tearing his sword deeper into the dread lord's arm until it fell to the ground, shriveled up, and turned into a puff of black smoke. Enraged, the beast began to become more violent and managed to knock Draggo to his feet. Just before the beast struck, a human paladin charged into the fray and smashed the beasts head in with his large silver mace. Draggo recognized the human as Drake Valarian, an honorable paladin that had aided in the assault on the Lich King.

"It would seem our path's cross yet again, Draggo." said Drake as he pulled the orc to his feet. The two respected each other greatly and even loosely considered each other as friends

"Yes, I only wish it was under less stressful circumstances." Draggo grumbled as he looked at the razing of the dreadlords. The Horde and Alliance were still separated, and losing because of it.

"We cannot win this battle divided…We must unite if we wish to survive." Draggo whispered sadly.

"You are right… Perhaps we should set an example." growled Drake as another Dreadlord charged at the two.

"Let's!" roared Draggo as the two charged. Though it was a formidable foe, the two managed to vanquish the beast relatively quick. Seemingly inspired by the companionship of Draggo and Drake, the Horde and Alliance eventually merged into one fighting force that vanquished the dreadlords.

Varimathras hovered above the armies as the destroyed his legion of demons.

"You wrecthed creatures. You may have killed my subordinates, but I will burn every last one of you miserable souls to nothing but ashes!" erupted Varimathrashe wrapped himself within his wings. Green fel flames swirled around his body as he dropped to the ground. By the time he smahed into the earth, the dread lord was engulfed in flames. He quickly released his wings sending massive waves of fel fire at the Alliance and Horde, dwindling their numbers. Draggo looked on in horror as many of his comrades fell in battle. He quickly donned his helmet and charged into battle with his fellow fighters. Varimathras sent waves of dark energy blasts and fel flames at his enemies keeping them at bay. Draggo and several other mortals managed to make it past his attack, but Varimathras caused a large dark blast of energy to engulf the area surround him, sending his foes back. Draggo laid on the ground dazed from the powerful blast.

"Are you all right my friend?" asked his druid friend, Fenron, helping Draggo to his feet.

"I'll be fine. We must kill thisdemon Fenron." Draggo grumbled.

"Yes, and we shall. No one betrays the Forsaken and lives to tell the tale." hissed Crether as he walked over with Drek'val at his back.

"Well then, Wrathchildren, let's show this foul demon what true mortals are made of." Draggo said as he and his fellow warriors charged into battle. Many people who managed to get close to Varimathras were simply torn to shreds by his claws or suffered his deadly fanged bite. But the Wrathchildren and a small Alliance group, including Drake, managed to hold their own on the demons landing a few blows. But just as Varimathras seemed to be weakened, he released a monstrous roar and waves of fel energy and shadow bolts surged through the air.

Only Drake, Draggo, and Crether were able to withstand the blast; the others had been knocked out or killed in the blast. Crether made the first move on Varimathras and dug his two poisoned blades into Varimathras' back and shoved them deeper until the came out of his chest cavity. Next, Drake encased his hammer with the power of the Light and smashed it upon the dreadlord's head, knocking it to it's knees. Draggo charged for the final blow, but just as he reached the demon, Varimathras ripped Crether from his back and tossed him at Draggo, sending both warriors to the ground. Drake tried to attack again, but Varimathras blasted the paladin back with a powerful fel blast. The dread lord was approaching the three downed warriors when suddenly a large storm cloud summoned by Thrall began to strike the dreadlord with painful lightning bolts. While Varimathras was weakend, Varian Wrynn stormed into the battlefield and began to mercilessly hack away at the dreadlord. Though injured, Varimathras defended against the King's swords and ultimately knocked him to the ground. Just as Varimathras was going to make the fatal strike upon the King's a powerful dark arrow pierced his chest with enough force to burst a large hole within him. The arrow had come from the wounded Sylvanas who was holding her bow heaving in deep, painful breaths.

"You mortal scum." growled Varimathras as he soared back into the air.

"We were merley the harbingers of our master's imminent arrival. Your world will soon be nothing more than a barren dead wasteland when we finish with you. Mark my words, we shall meet again!" preached the dreadlord as he flew into the portal. Once the dread lord disappeared into the shadows, the portal dropped back into the ground, disappearing all together. The Horde and the Alliance looked over the battle field. Only a handful of survivors had made it through the battle.

A look of disgust and anger corrupted Varian's face as he rose to his feet. He turned to Thrall who was slowly approaching with the same look.

"Thrall you are right…We need to work together to defeat this foe…The Alliance his now allied with the Horde…for now…We shall send our emissaries to your cities and discuss our next move." grumbled Varian, reluctantly shaking Thrall's hand.

"As will we." replied the Warchief just as everyone had prepared to leave, a badly injured bloodied orc flew from the skies on a wyvern and landed next to Thrall. The orc fell off the wyvern and stumbled towards Thrall.

"Lord Thrall, Durotar is under attack! Portal's have been opening up everywhere. Large monstrous pit lords have been spotted en route to Orgrimmar!" gasped the orc. Thrall gasped in horror as he rallied his troops to return immediately. Upon hearing the news Draggo raced over to Frostwing and began to fly to Durotar at breack-neck speed. He had to return to his family and be sure they were safe.


	4. Get To Safety

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry this one is kinda long, but it's got plenty of action to keep you interested. In the next chapter the story truly begins so just hold out until then. Enjoy!)

Chapter 4: Get to Safety

Draggo arrived at his island to see a horrific sight. The island contained a large black portal identical to the one he had seen in the Alterac Mountains. He also saw a large creature resembling a pit lord seemingly striking at something. Alarmed, angry, and fearful, Draggo quickly swooped down on Frostwing and leaped off of the drake, piercing the pit lord with his blade. It grunted in annoyance and quickly turned around, knocking Draggo off it's back. Once Draggo had crashed onto the ground, he realized what the pit lord was striking at. There, alive but injured, stood Draggar in broken armor and blood gushing from various wounds. His son gazed upon his father with an overflowing joy.

"Father!" cried Draggar as he began to limp over to his father.

Draggo saw the pit lord express a sinister grin he raised his large scimitar like blade. Draggo quickly got to his feet and dashed over to his son, tackling him to the ground just as the pit lord's blade dug deep into the dirt.

"Draggar, where is your mother and your sister!?" asked Draggo frantically.

"I told them to seek shelter. I saw them run off into the house but I was too occupied to see if they escaped." said a panicked Draggar on the verge of tears. "I couldn't protect them…"

"No Draggar, you have fought well. I'm proud." said Draggo as he quickly lifted himself and his son from the ground. Without the two distracted orcs noticing, the pit lord's blade was making another sweep for them. Fortunately, the noble and compassionate beast that Frostwing was, was able to fire a breath of frosty icicles at the pit lord, causing him to falter and miss his targets. Draggo took advantage of the moment to regroup himself and grabbed his sword from the ground and pulled his shield off his back strap.

"Draggar, take Frostwing and find Kanya and Velemere; fly to a safe place. I will find you." barkd Draggo as he stared down the demon.

"No, father I can figh-"

"Don't question me fool; go!" snapped Draggo. Draggar painfully nodded and called down Frostwing from the skies. Once he was on top of the beast, he soared away, taking one last look his father before flying off.

Draggar swooped down to the house which was a little ways away from the battle. Though at first he thought it was abandoned and his family had fled the island, his sister burst from the door crying.

"Draggy, are you ok!?" sobbed the little draenei tightly embracing her brother. She was soon followed by her mother who joined in on the hug.

"Thank the spirits you're alright." weeped Kanya.

"And thank them that you two are safe as well. Father has arrived and he's buying us time to get away-"

"What!? Your father can't do it alone, I must go help him!" blurted out Kanya as she ran in the direction of the thuds and thumps the pit lord made.

"Mother, no! You will only get in his way! We're leaving now!" said Draggar as he grabbed his mother by the wrist."

"Is daddy going to be ok?" sobbed Velemere.

"Dad's gonna be fine Vel. C'mon, we're gonna go to a safe place on Frostwing." said Draggar in a calming voice. Draggar rushed his family to the drake and took to the skies. Draggar and his family looked back to see clouds of dust kicked up from the battle and monstrous roars erupt from their island.

"Strength be with you father." Draggar whispered to himself.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Draggar and his family flew to Orgrimmar, thinking it would be a safe haven for the scared and panicked family. They were unaware that Orgrimmar had been assaulted by a large force of demons. It was Draggar's intention to simply fly past the demons who were halted at the gates by the guards and enter the city from above, but a small flock of demons caught sight of him and blocked his path.

The demons resembled harpies, though they were much more vile looking creatures. They had scaly reptilian skin and more bat like wings as oppose to feathered bird wings. Long jagged spiked tails flowed out of their spines. Their faces resembled succubus' but large devious fangs protruded from their lips. They swiftly cut off Draggar from his path. If he was going to save his family, he was going to have to make it past these vile creatures.

Draggar dropped into a nose dive to avoid the demons, but they were quickly upon him. Their vicious tails lashed out at the drake with several painful blows landing on Frostwing's body. The drake released a painful roar and began to increase his speed. Beginning to become enraged by these pesky demons, Frostwing grasped one of the harpy demon's tail in his mouth after it attempted to slash him with it's wicked bladed tail. Frostwing grabbed the tail with his arm in the air and savagely ripped the demon's tail in two. The demon released a horrific screech of pain as it flew away from the drake defeated.

Draggar knew the demons were becoming increasingly aggressive and Frostwing was beginning to weaken after all the blows he was suffering.

"Mother, hold on to Velemere tightly!" warned Draggar. He began to expertly maneuver the drake in a series of spins, somersaults, turns, dives, and barrel rolls. Every so often one of the demon's would become disoriented and Frostwing would strike with a savage vigor.

Though the tables had turned, one of the demons manged to wrap it's spiked tail around Frostwing's throat, tearing into his skin and cutting off his airway. Howling in pain( more like gasping because the drake could not breathe) the drake began to lose it's strength. Draggar acted quickly and pulled out his sword, slicing the beast's tail off in one barbaric slash. Though the tail loosened and fell from the drake's neck, Frostwing had been injured too badly and began to drop from the skies. Plummeting to their dooms', Draggar, Velemere, and Kanya began to holler in fear.

Acting quickly, Kanya gathered a sliver of her resolve and managed to call upon the spirits and mend the drake's wounds. Though still extremely weak, Frostwing managed to pull himself up out of the drop and head towards Orgrimmar. Though several demons remained, Frostwing navigated it's way through them and passed over Orgrimmar's wall. The demon's attempted to follow, but were halted by sharpshooters planted on top of the Orgrimmar entrance.

Frostwing dropped to the ground with a painful thud. Draggar and his family got off of the courageous beast and thankfully soothed it. Though the beast was badly injured he would live.

"Thank the heavens, more survivors!" exclaimed an orc woman who approached the family.

"My name is Garna, I'm in charge of safekeeping the survivors." explained Garna. "Come with me, I will take you all to safety." assured Garna, gesturing the family to follow her. They obediently obeyed and followed Garna through the city.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Draggar wished to aid in the defense of the city, but his mother insisted he recuperate and allow her to tend to his wounds. Velemere was extremely shaken up by the event, uncontrollably crying at the sight of all of the wounded around her. Though the defense efforts were successful so far, many people had been injured and rushed back into the city for recovery. The city was flooded with survivors of demon attack's forced to leave their farms and homes for safety. Many of the victim's were mere common folk.

"I shouldn't have left him there. I left him to face that monstrosity alone." murmured Draggar as he clenched fist in anger.

"No Draggar you did the right thing. In your condition you would have only made matters worse. " said Kanya in a soft voice as she bandaged a large gash on his arm.

"No! I know father is a great warrior, but even _he_ cannot face that thing alone. Who knows how weakened he was from whatever he did at hat meeting!? He had battle marks all over him…" growled Draggar as he slammed his fist on the bench he was sitting on.

"Draggar do not blame yourself. Your father may be old but he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I know he would get out of there if he knew he was in trouble." Kanya whispered into her son's ear as she lovingly held him in her arms. The truth was she was just as worried as he was, if not more.

"Mommy, where's daddy…I'm scared and I want daddy…" weeped Velemere as she sadly stood before her brother. Tears began to break the barrier of Kanya's eyes at the sight of her suffering daughter.

"Vel, Dad's gonna be just fine, you know how strong he is." Draggo said in a surprisingly soft voice. The sight of his distressed sister transformed his anger into sadness.

"You're just saying that.." Velemre accused.

"No Vel, I promise. I would never lie to you, I promise." Draggar said staring deep within Velemere's eyes. A tiny smile crept across her face as she jumped into her brother's arm.

Suddenly a large furry hand was placed on Draggar's shoulder. He looked up to see his second father, Fenron. Fenron was such good friends with Draggar's father that he was like family to him. He also had a great affinity for comforting Draggar, Velemere, and Kanya in times of distress.

"Draggar, my boy, you are safe. The spirits are gracious…" said Fenron as he patted Draggar on his shoulder. Draggar stood and happily shook Fenron's hand.

"Fenron it's good to see you." Kanya said in a soft voice.

"As it is to see you Kanya." chuckled Fenron as he hugged Kanya.

"Uncle Fen I'm scared…" whined Velemere tugging at Fenron's druidic robes. Fenron lifted up Velemere and greeted her with a smile.

"It's ok Velemere, there's nothing to fear. Uncle Fen's gonna make all the monsters go away." laughed Fenron.

"Where is Draggo? He rushed off after we met at Alterac Valley." Fenron asked Kanya and Draggar. Draggar slipped back into a mild depression as his mother faced the tauren.

"Draggo came to the island while were being attacked. We managed to get away, but he stayed to fend off a demon that attacked us…We don't know what happened to him…" Kanya explained on the verge of tears. A look of fear washed over Fenron's face.

While Fenron was speaking with Kanya and Draggo, whispers had broken out amongst the crowds about the draeneis and Draggar's halfing appearance. Draggar had learned to live with the prejudice.

"What's a disgraceful halfling doing here?" called out an extremely rude blood elf. Draggar looked over his shoulder in annoyance and simply ignored the outburst. He had heard such comments before. The grocrowdattempted to scold the elf but his next comment cut deep.

"That damn draenei tramp her kin shouldn't be here. They can be fed to the demon's for all I care!" shouted the elf. Before Draggar even rose in anger, Fenron was stomping over to the elf his fist transforming into a large grizzly paw. The enraged druid grasped the elf by the neck and pinned him against a stone wall with enough force to knock tiny pieces of rock out of the cracks of the wall.

"Make one more snide comment you worthless pile of flesh and I, a full blooded meber of the Horde, will tear you to shred's you **bastard**!" hollered the druid. Kanya pulled the enraged tauren off of the elf and calmed him. The elf ran off far away from Fenron after leaving a large soil stain where had had dropped after the tauren released his grip. Draggo's family was Fenron's family, and no one hassled Fenron's family without paying the price.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Night had fallen and the Orgrimmar guard had successfully reppeled the demon threat, though they were unsure how long they would be safe for. Draggar left his small tent that had been provided for his family and approached Fenron, who was sitting on a rock seemingly meditating.

"Fenron…what happened at the meeting in the Alterac Mountains?" asked Draggar.

A look of fear and depression overcame Fenron's face. He looked at the sky as if waiting for someone to answer the question for him. When no answer came he came close to Draggar's ear so no one else could hear.

"The Titan Aman'thul spoke to Thrall…He warned us of the arrival of Sargeras." whisper Fenron.

Draggar quickly stepped back in shock. Before he could reply to the outrageous information he heard people start to yell something.

"We got another survivor! Get help quick, he's hurt!" called out a random voice. Draggar wasn't too concerned at first but as the city aids helped the orc make it to the medic quarters Draggar recognized the beaten body that was his father.

"Father!" called out Draggar. He and Fenron quickly rushed over and helped Draggo make it to a bed where injured soldiers were being treated. Draggar's father weakly turned to his son and managed to form a smile.

"Father, are you ok!?" asked Draggar trying to maintain his composure. His father grunted and moaned in pain but manged to pull off a hearty laugh.

"I'll be fine my son…How are Kanya and Velemere?" asked Draggp weakly.

"They're fine. We got to the city safely." said Draggar proudly.

"Very good Draggar. See, I told you everything would be alright…" murmured Draggo.

"Sturdy as diamond old friend." laughed Fenron as he smiled over his friend. Draggo turned to his friend and smiled.

"And just as good looking as one too." joked Draggo in a weak voice.

"Good to see your sense of humor survived the battle as well. I will go inform Kanya and Velemere of your safety, but I don't think they should see you like this. They're shaken up enough as it is…" Fernon said as he headed out to find Kanya and Velemere.

"What happened father; after we left what did you do?" asked Draggar.

"Well, the battle was a savage one for sure. It seemed to last forever. As you can tell I took a beating, but I managed to killl the damn thing…but I couldn't save our home…" said Draggo in an ashamed voice.

"It's ok father. You did more than anyone could have sexpected of you. What's important is that we all made it safe and sound…" said Draggar gripping his father's hand tightly.

"Well I guess you're right…We can speak more in the morning…" Draggo whispered as he began to drift off into sleep.

"We'll keep a close eye on your father…We'll have him recovered as soon as we can. Right now he needs rest." said one of the healers. Draggar nodded and left the tent taking one last look as his father's wounds were treated.


	5. The Battle For Thunderbluff

**(AUTHOR'SNOTE:** This chapter's a lil long, but it's worth it. Lot's off action. Enjoy!)

Chapter 5: The Battle For The Rises

Several days passed after the initial attack on Orgrimmar. The Horde had successfully repelled the demonic forces, but for how long, they were unsure. Draggo and Draggar had recovered as well as Frostwing from the excruciating battles they had endured. Draggo, Draggar, Kanya, and Velemere were discussing the situation when Fenron came over.

"Draggo, Draggar, Thrall has ordered an emergency meeting of his soldiers within the Ring of Valor." Fenron stated. Draggo and Draggar acknowledged the druid and proceeded to the Ring of Valor.

"Fenron, do you know what happened to Crether and Drek'val?" asked Draggo.

"After the battle in the Alterac Mountains they were sent as defensive forces to Thunderbluff. I have not heard word of them since." Fenron answered.

"May the spirits be with them then." said Draggo as they began to enter the Ring of Valor. The stadium was packed with all races of the Horde as their eyes fell upon Thrall who stood within the middle of the Ring of Valor. Once everyone had entered Thrall began to speak.

"Warriors of the Horde, I bare grave news." said the Warchief. "A large force of demons is on approach to Thunderbluff. They will be upon the city within the hour."

An outburst broke out amongst the Horde. Panic, fear, and anger possessed the crowd. Draggo and Fenron grimaced in fear of the city. Their friends were in grave danger.

"**SILENCE!**" boomed Thrall. His voice silenced the boisterous crowd. "We shall come to our allies' aid, but we cannot simply charge in blades raised. I have a friend here with something that might be able to aid us in this battle…" Thrall said as he gestured towards someone who was standing within the shadows. A small goblin walked over to Thrall with a large cannon like device in his arms.

"This," said the goblin holding up the device, "is the a what I like to call the TNTitan! It is capable of firing large and highly explosive charges from far distances. We've been developing it for the past few years. As for it's strength…Well let's just say we could take down a dragon in a shot or two with one of these bad boys!" screeched the goblin.

"Warriors of the Horde, heed my words: we _will_ destroy this demon menace, we _will _find and defeat Sargeras, and we _**will**_defend our home!" hollered the Warchief. Everyone in the stadium rose up in a monstrous cheer.

"For the Horde!"

"For the Horde!"

"For the **HORDE**!"

"Let us go, my fellow Horde, and protect our brethren against these vile demons!" yelled Thrall.

"Be sure to pick up your TNTitans on the way out!" yelled the goblin as the Horde began to rush out of the coliseum.

Outside the coliseum were racks of TNTitans and piles of ammo. An eager and battle lusty Horde rushed over and grabbed their weapons.

"Horde, we shall attack from the skies! Let our enemies feel our rain of fire! Let them burn like the hell they belong in!" Shouted a rather aged orc mounted on top of a wyvern dressed in slick spiky black armor that matched it's peculiar black coat. The orc was wearing rather intimidating armor. Spikes and blades erupted from all sides of the orc's armor. His face was littered with scars of battle only adding to his spine chilling appearance. At the stables nearby were lines of battle ready wyverns. Everyone ran towards the stables except fro Draggo and Fenron.

"Aren't you two coming?" asked Draggar as he halted in his pursuit towards the stables.

"Oh, we're goin alright." growled Draggo. He took a horn from his belt that he used to call Frostwing to him. His loyal drake was never to far to heed his call. The mighty blue drake descended from the heavens and kneeled before his master.

"I shall see you there my son. Strength be with you." said Draggo as he took off, the Horde close at his back. Draggar then averted his gaze to Fenron. He had neither a mount nor a TNTitan.

"What of you?" Draggar asked.

"I have my own way to fight from the skies." Fenron chuckled. He placed one of his hands in the air and a large swirling green mist of druidic energy began to engulf his body. Then, a large brownish wing erupted from the mist; then another. A long scaly brown tail slithered from the back, and then Fenron erupted from the mist as a large brown dragon releasing a monstrous roar that made the sky and earth tremble. Draggar looked on in shock. He didn't know that this transformation was even possible for a druid!

"Hop on, my friend. Let us rid our world of this filth_." _grumbled Fenron. Draggar reluctantly hopped onto Fenron's back and the dragon burst through the skies like rocket.

Fenron caught up with Draggo at the head of the raid.

"Father do you know how many demons we re going to be facing?" asked and eager, yet slightly intimidated Draggar.

"According to Gargon," said Draggo gesturing towards the orc on the black wyvern, " it's a larger force than the one that attacked Orgrimmar."

"Indeed." said Gargon in his gruff voice. "Regardless, they will be exterminated just as their allies were…"

The Horde finally entered Mulgore and within moments they had arrived on Thunderbluff…and it's sundering. The demonic force was indeed larger than the one that attacked Orgrimmar. Abnormally large pit lords stomped across they land, destroying all wildlife in their wake as they smashed their blades into the rises. Demonic harpies soared around the skies, swooping down and attacking Thunderbluff guards. Much of Thunderbluff had been taken by wrath guards and other man'ari eredar. Much of the city had been set ablaze by the demons. It was pure destruction.

"Attack my fellow Horde! We must release these wretched insurgents' grip on our allies!" hollered Gargon. He was the first to swoop down and fire his TNTitan at a pit lord he was attempting to climb one of the rises. The explosive charge exploded on the demons back leaving a large bloody scorch mark on it's back. The pit lord fell off the rock howling in pain and angry. He crashed to the ground, injured but alive. He was soon followed by other Horde firing their TNTitans at the demons. Soon, the Burning Legion countered with assaults from the harpies and sorceress standing at the edges of the rise. The battle was at a standstill.

Draggo was being pursued by a large and menacing harpy through the skies. Once he reloaded his TNTitan, he shifted around in his seat and blasted the harpy into bits. When he turned back around in his seat, he saw the horror that was taking place on the land. The Thunderbluff forces were being mercilessly slaughtered like cattle. The orc quickly urged his drake down, smashing it directly into a wrath guard that had a tauren pinned to the ground.

"Thank you orc. Please, you must aid Cairne! He is being overrun by demons! He has been able to hold them off for now, but I fear he grows weary!" cried the tauren guard.

Draggo nodded in affirmation and began to call down his drake when he realized Frostwing was occupied fleeing from attackers. Draggo did not fear for his drake's safety; he knew Frostwing was perfectly capable of handling himself. With no transportation but his own two feet, Draggo made a run for the bridge. Just as he reached the bridge, he saw a demonic sorcerer burn the ropes of the bridge, dropping it to the ground below. The demon cackled as it turned to see Draggo's shield crash into it's face, sending the demon plummeting to the ground below the rise. The only other path was to take the bridge to the Lower Rise and to ascend the totem to the High Rise. Draggo began to dash for the other bridge.

Draggar remained in the skies with Fenron; Draggar was blasting demons to bloody bits while Fenron scorched them into a mist of ash. The attack on his homeland had made the druid extremely infuriated and aggressive.

"Draggar, I need you to look for Drek'val and Crether." said Fenron between breaths of fire. Draggar knew Crether and Drek'val through his father, though his relationship with them was not as close as it was with Fenron.

"I worry for their safety. Even they are in danger in the face of this enemy. I will find a safe place for you to land and continue to exterminate these demons " said Fenron.

"Very well Fenron." replied Draggar.

The brown dragon managed to navigate through the demons and landed on Elder Rise. A large number of doomguards were piling into the tent where Hamuul Runetotem and Hagatha Grimtotem resided. Draggar quickly rushed into help. As soon as he entered, a doom guard was shot otut of the tent opening, soaring right past Draggar falling to the ground dead. When he looked inside he found more dead doomguards. Standing in the back of the tent, surrounded by the doomguards and man'ari eredar stood Hagatha Grimtotem and some tauren looking beast. It was larger than an average tauren and his face had taken on a more bestial appearance and his paws were larger and bared gnarly claws. Fangs protruded from his mouth like a tiger and his fur was extremely ruffled. The beasts muscles bulged out of his leather garbs and his eyes glowed yellow. This beats was mercilessly hacking away at the demons with speed and ferocity that Draggar had never seen before. Hagatha Grimtotem stood by the beast, blasting the demons with spells and occasionally healed her ally. Though they were a daunting force, they were obviously beginning to weaken.

Draggar ran into the action and began to annihilate the demons from behind. Countless spells and demonic weapons were hurled at Draggar, but he was relentless. His blade brought the remaining demons to their demise. Once the threat was dealt with Draggar approached the two. Hagatha and the beast were both heaving deep breaths of exhaustion. Their age was very apparent in that moment.

"Are you two alright?" asked Draggar.

"Yes, I believe so. Thank you orc." thanked Hagatha. The beast weakly fell to one knee and let loose a painful grumble.

"Hamuul are you alright?" asked Hagatha as she placed her glowing green hands on the beast. Hamuul quickly rose and nodded.

"Thank you warrior. Your aid was greatly appreciated." growled Hamuul in a feral voice.

"Have you two seen a Forsaken and a troll by the names of Crether and Drek'val. They were sent as reinforcements here." asked Draggar.

"No I'm afraid not, but I do know that all of the reinforcements were sent to the High Rise to protect Cairne." said Hagatha.

"Very well then. Be safe." said Draggar as he began to set off for the High Rise.

"Wait! We shall accompany. We must protect Cairne Bloodhoof." said Hagatha as she began to follow Draggar. Hamuul got on all fours and began to sprint along with Draggar and Hagatha and took the bridge to Middle Rise.

Draggo had managed to make it to the large totem that would lead him to High Rise. Unfortunately, the demons had burned down the totem and the surrounding building. Draggo would have to climb up the rubble and fight through the doom guards that stood upon it. He charged the demons with his weapons raised and shouting out a monstrous battle cry.

His shield made first contact on a demons face and it fell to the ground. Draggo stabbed the demon in the neck, black blood oozing from the wound. Draggo savagely ripped the blade it, killing the monster. Two more doom guards flew through the air at Draggo. They both released demonic flames from their mouths. Draggo quickly crouched down and hid behind his shield which repelled the flames. As one of the demons flew over his head, Draggo threw his blade up, slicing the doom guard open. The other managed to tackle him to the ground. The demon sat on top of him, pinning him to the ground, and swung his fist down at the orc. Draggo used his barbaric strength to catch the fist in his hand and swing his own fist at the demon, knocking it off of him. While it was on the ground Draggo retrieved his shield and severed the demon's head with it.

Before Draggo could pick up his sword, more doomguards and wrath guards were upon him. His shield being his only weapon, Draggo would have to alter his strategy. A wrath guard charged Draggo, his dual axes poised for attack, and brought the two axes down. Draggo blocked the first of the axes with his shield and when the other axe was heading for his side, Draggo stopped the attack by grabbing the handle of the weapon Draggo swung the axe off his shield and then swung Dragon Guard into the demon's face, leaving a large indentation. Bewildered by the forceful blow, the demon loosened his grip on the axe which Draggo ripped from his grasp and used it to execute the demon. This axe would have to serve as Draggo's weapon until he reached Dragon Strike on the other side of the demons.

Draggo charged into the crowd and began to hack away. At one point a doomguard had swung his titanic blade at Draggo who had blocked the blow with his axe. The force of the swing was so strong that Draggo's axe began to crack from the pressure. While Draggo tried to hold off the blade, a wrath guard approached menacingly from behind. Draggo reacted instinctively and tossed his shield at the demon, severing it's head. With his now free hand Draggo picked up another axe from the ground and swung it at the doomguard's wrists, cutting off it's hands. He then struck the final blow. With a few more kills, Draggo retrieved both Dragon Guard and Dragon Strike and finished off the last of the demons. He then ran for High Rise.

Draggar approached the large totem wyvern roost and noticed a large amount of dead demons laying upon the rubble of the surrounding area. He quickly ran up the rubble and arrived at High Rise. There he saw that the brunt of the demonic forces was here, surrounding Cairne's He also knew that Cairne was at the center of the mass of demons because Draggar could see random demons flying through the air and either crashing on the ground dead or plummeting off the rise to their demise. Very few others were around to assist the Chieftain. Hamuul and Hagath quickly rushed into the battle to aide their chieftain Draggar then noticed there was another mass of demons piled around some other individuals at the center of High Rise.. At the epicenter Draggar was able to spot his father and Drek'val trying to survive the demonic onslaught.

"Father!" cried Draggar. Draggo turned and saw his son running towards him.

"No Draggar! Assist Cairne! We can handle thi-" before Draggo could finish his sentence a demon snuck up behind him and dug his blade into the orc's back knocking him to the ground. Drek'val caught the demon's next blow with one his hand blades and dug his other hand blade deep into the demons chest.

"Go Draggar, now!" shouted Draggo.

Draggar painfully nodded and ran to Cairne. Draggar cut through the forces and was able to get to Cairne. He had many cut's and gashes, but the tauren chieftain was tough and bold. He was still fighting strong.

"I've come to help Cairne!" said the orc as he dug his sword into a demon.

"Very well green skin. The help is greatly appreciated." grumbled the tauren as he smashed a wrath guard into the ground. Draggar noticed a Forsaken was lying at the entrance to Cairne's, his arm nearly severed. Draggar then realized that the Forsaken was Crether. He was unsure whether he was alive or not, but he would have to check on that later.

Cairne and Draggar, along with Hagatha and Hamuul, initially held off the demon forces, but they began to wear out and the demons seemed to only grow in number and strength. Draggar began to take many blows until he had been knocked down. Not having the strength to defend himself he was at the mercy of the demon towering above him. Before the demon could strike, Cairne's totem crashed into the demon, sending the demon soaring into the skies. Cairne quickly pulled the weak orc to his feet.

"Stand and fight young one. Dig deep within yourself and find your true strength!" hollered Cairne.

Emboldened and empowered by the tauren's words, Draggar continued to battle against the demons. Suddenly, as they were fighting, Gargon dropped from the sky holding n immense blade in one of his hands. Draggar looked at the size of the axe in awe. It was larger than Cairne's totem! He couldn't see anyone being able to hold that weapon with two hands, let alone one! Gargon displayed his strength by dealing with five demons that leaped at him at once. All of the demons left the ground in one piece and each one came down in two. Gargon roared and began to dismember demon after demon with an unimaginable fury. Soon after his arrival more Horde forces arrived to aide Cairne. Within minutes the Demonic forces were all but obliterated. The Horde cheered and reveled in their victory. Draggar panicky rushed over to see the fate of his father. Draggo stood triumphantly on top of a demon's body accompanied by Drek'val who struck the finishing blow on a demon who had managed to survive. They were soon accompanied by Fenron who descended from the skies covered in the blood and ashes of his enemies.

"Well done my friends, and my son. We all fought well and were rewarded for our efforts!" boasted Draggo.

"Yes we were." Fenron said proudly. "Draggar, were you able to find Crether?" Fenron asked.

Draggar solemnly turned to Cairne's hut and pointed. The small group approached the body of their friend. Upon inspection they realized he was alive, or at least as alive as a Forsaken could be. Fenron mended Crether's most grievous wounds and managed to keep the rogue in stable condition though he was still unconscious.

Drek'val began to explain what had happened at Thunderbluff. He said that he and Crether arrived at Thunderbluff and informed Cairne of what was going on. He took the necessary precautions, but they were unprepared for the demonic siege attack. Within minutes, the demons had begun to overrun Thunderbluff. All of the readily available forces, including Crether and Drek'val, were sent to aid Cairne. During the battle, Drek'val was separated from Cairne after some kind of spell had blasted him away. He was all by himself until Draggo arrived and began to assist him. Soon after was when Draggar arrived.

The Horde was still reveling in their victory when the earth began to tremble.. A titanic and monstrous roar the likes of which no one had ever heard of before boomed through the air. The sound apparently was coming from the Spirit Rise. The Horde quickly rushed over to see the source of the disturbance. Once they arrived at the Rise they found nothing, only rubble and bodies from the previous battle. Another roar came and the Horde peered over the edge of the cliff. At the bottom of the Rise was a large black portal resembling a whirlpool about the size of the Central Rise.


	6. Monster

**(AUTHORS NOTE: **This story is mainly focusing on horde characters but I have decided considering the events in the story it would be appropriate to write about both the Alliance and Horde, though the main focus will still be predominantly Horde. The next chapter will be about Drake Valarian from chapter 2 and introduce some more Alliance characters along with an alliance viewpoint on the attacks)

Chapter 6: Monster

Suddenly, a large black scaly arm erupted from the portal. Then another. Whatever the arms were attached to began to pull themselves up out of the portal with enough force to shake the earth. A large, black, scaly, monstrous pit lord head emerged from the darkness. This pit lord, like many of the other demons the Horde had faced thus far, was not average. It had abnormally large and a several large horns protruding from his head. It had four eyes and savage teeth. The next thing to burst from the portal were it's wings. They were large menacing tattered piles of demonic flesh. Along the edges were countless jagged spikes. With a final push the demon revealed the rest of his body and the portal closed. It was about three times the size of an average pit lord and it's skin was jet black with blood red stripes. It's clawed feet were engulfed in flames that scorched everything near it. At the end of it's long tail was a large spiked ball. Huge black spikes erupted from it's spine. His entire body was encased in red armor. In his right hand he held an impossible massive double bladed sword with demonic symbols on it.

The Horde gasped in horror at their new enemy. Before the could act, the demon latched onto the rise and began to climb the rise releasing more menacing roars.

"Horde! Dispatch this demon from our lands like we did to it's allies!" bellowed Gargon as he ran to his wyvern. The rest of the Horde reluctantly followed him to the skies. The Horde fired an endless assault of explosives at the demons, but to no avail; his armor was too thick. Whenever an unlucky Horde would fly too close, the pit lord would swing his blade with impossible speed, crushing the victim rather than cutting it because the blade was so large. Draggar was firing blasts at the back of the pit lord's helm, attempting to break through. He thought he was unnoticed, but the pit lord began to swing his blade back at Draggar. Draggo swooped down on Frostwing and rescued his son from his wyvern just as the mount was smashed. The wind gust from the attack knocked Draggo and Draggar off of Frostwing and forced them to fall on top of Spirit rise. As they rose they realized that the pit lord had reached the top of the rise. He clenched on to the sides of the rise with his four legs and stabbed his giant blade into the the earth to keep from falling.

While the two orcs stared down the massive demon they both realized that many of their fellow Horde had fallen from the skies. Even Gargon laid on the ground critically injured. The mighty beast grumbled and flames began to pierce through the cracks of his teeth.

"Draggar get behind me, quickly!" shouted Draggo. Draggar obediently obeyed his father. Dragg planted his shield into the ground and ducked as flames erupted from the demons mouth like a volcano. The flames harmless flew around the shield and the orcs, scorching the land around them. The pit lord roared with anger revealing his fanged tongue.

"Come Drsggo. We are going to have to do this the ol' fashion way…" growled Darzon as he took a battle stance.

"You can't honestly tell me we are going to fight hand-to-hand with such a beast!? It's impossible!" exclaimed Draggar.

"You know nothing of real monsters my son. You were born into an age of peace. Your only enemies have been weak mortals. I have faced true monsters. I have _killed _true monsters!" roared Draggo. The orc charged at the pit lord. Draggar was shocked. He had never seen his father in such a way.

The pit lord grabbed the edge of the rise with his free hand and ripped his blade from the earth, leaving a gaping hole in the rise revealing the Pools of Vision. The pit lord began to ferociously swing his blade at Draggo, smashing it into the earth many times. Draggo dodged the blows as best as he could. The demons speed was great, but so was Draggo, and the orc was a small target. Draggo saw his target, the beast's hand. It was the only thing holding up the beast up aside from it's legs. Draggo charged at the pit lord's hand, skillfully dodging the balde. Draggo reached the massive hand and launched himself on top where he began to mercilessly hack away at the hand. Angered by the orc's attack, the pit lord growled and flung Draggo to the side like a meddlesome bug. Draggo crashed onto the ground and slid across the rise leaving a large dirt skid mark impression in the dirt. Draggo rose again and grabbed a TNTitan and fire two shots at the hand before the pit lord smashed his blade close enough to Draggo to knock him to the ground.

_He's unrelenting _thought Draggo. Never had he seen anyone face such a menacing foe with such spirit and courage, let alone his very own father. He now realized why his father was a legend. Draggar was empowered by his father's courageous efforts and began to aid his father's attack on the beast's hand. After several assaults, it was very apparent the pit lord's hand was extremely inured. Just as Draggar was closing in on what he thought would be the final blow, he got too close and the beast swung one it's tusks at him. Draggar soared back through the air and crashed onto a pile of broken burning wood. At the angle he was struck, the tusked had knocked him back more than cut or pierce him, though his armor had been wrecked in the process.

"Draggar!" cried Draggo. He rushed over to his son who lay unmoving in the debris.

"I'll be alright father, but I don't think I can fight any longer…I'm sorry…" groan Draggar.

"It's alright Draggar. You did enough." whispered Draggo. Draggo turned and saw the the pit lord's blade was sweeping across the ground heading straight towards them. Angered by his sons injury, Draggo unleashed some hidden impossible strength and smashed his shield into the demon's blade. As the weapons struck, the gem eyes of shield began to glow and a blue aura fixated itself around the shield. Draggo slid back, digging his feet deep into the ground. Eventually, Draggo stopped the blade completely. Even the pit lord seemed confused for a m . Draggo released a roar almost equal to the pit lord's and dashed at the beast head on. As Draggo approached the cliff face, the pit lord released another torrent of flame that cascaded over the rise. Draggo held his shield before him and tore through the flames. Draggo then landed on the monster's face and grasped on the rugged spikes that lay upon the demon's face. He gripped his sword tightly and plunged it into the pitlrod's fiery yellow eyes. Thick black and yellow ooze bursted from the eye socket like a geyser. The beast howled in pain as Draggo thrust his arm in all different directions ripping into the skin inside of the demons skull. The pit lord grasped Draggo and squeezed him tightly in anger before he thrust the orc to the ground. Draggo smashed into the ground leaving a deep indentation deep within the earth. Draggo painfully rose and faced down his enemy. He was determined as ever.

Draggar, though dazed, managed to see his father battle the demon mercilessly. He knew, though he had made stalwart progress, Draggo could not keep up this battle. Suddenly an idea exploded within Draggar's mind. He anxiously looked around for a TNTitan and found on in the rubble he resided on. It was slightly bent and scarred from battle, but it was still a capable weapon. Draggar managed to pull himself to his feet and limp towards the other end of the rise.

"Father! Try to get on his face again and keep him occupied as long as u can!" shouted Draggar. Draggo reluctantly nodded and charged the beats once more. Once Draggar saw that his father was soaring towards the demon's head, Draggar dashed for the Pools Of Vision. He did not know how long Draggo could stay on the demon's face and keep his hand occupied so Draggar had to move as quickly as possible. Draggar reached the Pools of Vision and saw the demon's blade protruding from the ceiling. Draggar could tell that the rock surrounding the blade was weak from all the time the demon had ripped the blade out and put it back in. Draggar aimed his TNTitan at the cavern ceiling near where the blade was piercing the rock. He fired and the entire cavern shook. A large chunk of rock was blasted out of the wall. Draggar stared at the rock in disappointment for several moments. Then…

Draggo was once again on the monster's face. The pit lord was attempting to grab Draggo again, but Draggo was quickly avoided the hand by crawling across the beast's face using it's rugged terrain like face. Suddenly, Draggo heard a loud explosion and turned to see the rock around the beast's blade explode. All of the earth surround the monster's blade crumbled, causing the pit lord to lose all of his support. The pit lord gave up his efforts of trying to grab Draggo and instead tried to grab the ledge. Draggo hopped onto the pit lord's tusk and ran to the tip, leaping off and landing on the rise once again. The pit lord had just barely managed to grab the ledge, but a nearby observer would see to it that this pit lord met his demise. Fenron swooped from above and barbarically smashed his dragon body into the pit lord, relinquishing it's grip and sending him falling back. His legs were not enough to support him so the beast toppled over and fell to the ground, his blade piercing his body.

Just as Draggo looked over to see his vanquished foe he saw the beast struggling to remove the blade from his chest. He was still alive!. Draggo could not allow this beast to get up. It had to end now. Suddenly the entire rise shook and tremble. Draggo noticed large chunks of rock crumbling and falling off of the rise. The attacks from the demons earlier and this demon's ascension had weakend the rise exponentially. Draggo knew every war and every battle had sacrifices. He quickly grabbed a TNTitan from the ground and called Fenron from the skies. While he circled the rise he ordered all of the Horde to shoot the weak points of the rise. The Horde obediently obeyed and began to fire at the weak points of the rise. Draggo fired the final shot that forced the rise to collapse. The pit lord was just about to dislodge the blade when a torrent of rocks buried him and dug the blade deeper. Within moments, the pit lord had been crushed, his arm defiantly sticking out from the rubble. Draggar had managed to make it across the bridge just as the rise fell.

Though the Horde had won, no one cheered, They had not endured sacrifices such as these in a long time. The Horde forces began to return to Orgrimmar, escorting several TunderBluff refugees to their city. The battle for Thunderbluff was won, but the war for Azeroth had only just begun…


	7. An Alliance Viewpoint

(**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **WARNING!!!** Theres a brief moment of abnormally brutal content! M rated! It is very brief but viewer discretion is advised!)

Chapter 7: An Alliance Viewpoint

The Alliance forces spread out to their main strongholds. Drake Valarian was en route to Stormwind. Drake arrived on the scene to a strangely brutal yet relieving sight. His city stood and demon bodies littered the city, but so did his comrades, his allies, and his friends. Although the city stood, it had been badly damaged. With many of the Alliance's forces at Alterac Valley Stormwind's defenses had been minimal. The demons had reached the inner sanctum's and begun to raze the city. Fortunately the remaining Alliance forces managed to repel and decimate the demonic forces.

Drake steered his elegant gryphon down into the Park in the stronghold. Several minor demon bodies surrounded a large dead Pit lord whose thick greenish black blood corrupted the wildlife around it. Drake looked around in honor. Dozens of Stormwind guards lay dead within the grass, brutally ripped apart by the demon savages.

"Well look who decided to show his face!" called out a familiar voice. Drake turned to see his dwarf friend, Longshot.

"Longshot, my friend, you survived! Thank the Light!" cheered Drake as he rushed over to his friend who was mounted on top of his bear, Betsy, as usual.

Longshot was a talented hunter with a mysterious past. Several years ago, Longshot was found aimlessly wandering around in Khaz Modan in the middle of a blizzard. When an Alliance patrol discovered him, he was emaciated, along with Betsy, and on the verge of death. They took him back to camp and when he awoke he had no recollection of anything of his past. The only clue he had was a very skillfully custom crafted gun that was tied to his back and his bear companion with the name "Betsy, etched into the saddle. Later, when a large wendigo assaulted the camp, the dwarf instinctively pulled out his rifle and displayed excellent marksmanship. Longshot enlisted into the Alliance army and has been trying to learn of his past ever since. He has found nothing of his past and no one who knows of his former self. His name Longshot comes from his excellent sharpshooter skills and the chance of him finding his past.

"Aye, I made it through the fight. It be a gruesome battle though. Many o' good men died today." said the dwarf in a solemn tone. Betsy growled sympathetically. Betsy was an abnormally large grizzly bear. Longshothad mounted two cannons on her side that he used whenever he charged into battle. He had also made her a special set of battle armor. Whenever people spoke of Longshot's bear and they refer to as "Tank" fearing the name Betsy will ruin the power of the tale.

"What were you even doing here? I thought you were looking for answers to your past in Ironforge?" asked a more than curious Drake.

" Indeed I was. I found a lead there and was following it here to Stormwind. Shortly after I arrived, these demonic bastards showed up outta nowhere and began to lay siege to the city. Me and Betsy gladly joined the fight, but these demons…They be a strange lot. They were unnaturally brutal and strong. Never seen nothing like it…" said the dwarf as head adjusted some settings on his signature yellow electronic goggles.

Drake stood still for a moment before a panicked look came over him and he dashed off running towards Cathedral Square.

"Ey! Where ye be goin!?" barked the dwarf in a confused tone.

Drake arrived at the Cathedral of Light. It had taken much damage from the battle, but it still stood tall and proud. Drake entered the hold and anxiously looked around. Standing at the altar at the end of the main hall along with some other men stood the man Drake had been looking for.

" Sir Tyring!" called out Drake as he ran over to his master. Drake embraced the old man tightly.

"Sir Tyring, I'm so glad you're all right!" exclaimed Drake.

"Aw come now Drake, we've known each other long enough, I've told you call me Darius." laughed the old man.

Darius Tyring had been Drake's mentor and a father figure to Drake as he grew up. Drake became an orphan at a young age when his parents died fighting in the war. Darius always visited the orphans, but had taken a special interest in Drake. Once Drake began to train as a paladin, Darius took the orphan under his wing and taught him everything he knew. Drake came to know Darius not only as his mentor, but as his idol.

Darius Tyring was a jolly old man. The term ancient would be more precise than old. He was one of the oldest living men in Stormwindand was a veteran of just about every major war throughtout his lifetime. He was well liked by all the citizens of Stormwind.

"Where were you when the demons attacked?" asked Darius in a curious tone.

"I had gone on an 'expedition' with some Alliance forces… I'm sorry I was not here to protect you." said Drake shamefully. Darius placed his wrinkly shaky hand on Drakes plate shoulder.

"You did your job sonny. What's there to be ashamed of? There was no way you could have known of this attack. Besides, I'm perfectly fine. I stayed held up in here the whole. I must admit, I was a bit shaken when they began to attack the Cathedral." smiled the old man.

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Drake and Longshot were roaming around the city assisting in repairing the broken city. Several hours had passed when all the citizens were called into the Trade District. Varian Wrynn faced the crowd standing with his guards and a night elf with fresh battle wounds and blood drenched garbs. While Drake was standing in the crowd he recognized the elf as Tygra Lightfoot, a very close friend of his. Tygrahad taught Drake how to survive off the land and navigate through the forest once when Drake had been wandering aimlessly through a forest for days. They began to accompany each other in their travels and forged a very strong relationship.

"Citizens of Stormwind and members of the Alliance, I bare terrible news…" called out Varian to the crowd,

"Recently Thrall called a meeting with the leaders of the Alliance. While their, we were informed of something terrible. A great evil is entering our world. An evil that not only threatens us, but also the Horde and all other beings of this world. You have seen it's harbingers and the chaos they alone have placed upon us. The evil I speak of is none other than Sargeras, the Destroyer!"

Loud whispers and shrill cries of fear broke out amongst the crowd. Longshot anxiously turned to Drake as the paladin stood steadfast.

"This is not the only attack made upon us mortals. While I was in the Alterac Mountains me and my men were also attacked by the Burning Legion. This night elf, Tygra Lightfoot. She was stationed in Darnassus until not too long ago. The once lush grove has been decimated. Though they too managed to fend off the Legion, there were but only a few that survived the attack…" said Varian as a look of disgust took his face. A mixture of anger and sadness gripped Tygra tightly as she held back her tears.

"If we hope to survive this invasion there is but one option: ally ourselves with the Horde and destroy these demonic bastards." growled Varian. A combination of angered outbursts and confusion overthrew the crowd as they hollered at their king.

"**SILENCE**! Do you not see what has happened here today!? Our men, women and _children _were slaughtered like cattle. We barely managed to defend ourselves and I guarantee that the Horde is fairing no better. We must dismiss old hates to preserve a new life for our people; our families! Believeme, I would not ally myself with the Horde if it was not necessary. We are on the brink of destruction, extinction, and genocide. We must stand up and fight as one force if we hope to survive!" pleaded Varian. Grumbles of angered acknowledgement rolled throughout the crowd.

"I recently stumbled upon a gnome who told me something very interesting. His friend, Nal, a very talented warlock, recently stumbled upon an artifact. This gnome told me Nal began to change drastically, and mysteriously left…Soon after, the Burning Legion entered our world…This may be a coincidence, but we can not afford to take chances. If this Nal is bringing demons into our world, he must be deal with. I will be sending ambassadors to the Horde as will they. Together we shall come up with a plan to halt this invasion. Until then I urge you all to seek out this Nal character. That is all." said Varian as he turned away and walked away with a look of depression.

Panicked citizens and worried soldiers began to converse and disperse. Drake walked over to Tygra and looked deep within his eyes. He had never seen such a look of hate and anger on the elf's face.

"Tygra…I'm sorry" Drake said.

"Drake…They're all dead…They were murdered like they were nothing…Their deaths… The torture they endured…No one deserves that." sobbed Tygra as she gritted her teeth.

"We shall avenge them Tygra…I swear it. Where is Kyavel..." Drake said, his voice changing from sympathetic to worried, as he placed his hand on the elf's shoulder. Kyavel was Tygra's fiancé. He was a druid like Tygra and was also her childhood sweetheart. They engaged very young and were rarely seen apart.

"I'm going to rip ever one of those demonic bastards hearts out with my own hands!" screamed Tygra as she stormed off.

"Oh no…" murmured Drake. He knew Kyavel was dead. Tygra was a very passionate person and he couldn't even handle her friends being harmed or threatened without becoming enraged. Drake couldn't begin to imagine what the death of her husband-to-be would do to her.

"Sir Valarian?" asked a guard as she approached Drake. The paladin swirled around and faced the guard.

"I am…" said the paladin.

"Lord Wyrnn has requested an audience with you." said the guard. "Please come with me."

Drake arrived in the Throne Room of Stormwind Keep. Even this building had sustained damage from the attack. Drake kneeled before his king in respect.

"Lord Wrynn, what is that you ask of me?" asked Drake. Varian gestured to him to rise.

"Is it true that you aided a group of Horde in killing the Lich King?" asked Wrynn with an stern look on his face.

"Yes sir it is true. I fought by Draggo Dragonblade and his allies against the Lich King. He was an honorable warrior. I respect him very much." replied Drake.

"I see. From what I have heard from you and researched I see no better candidate to send to the Horde. Report to Orgrimmar as soon as possible. They should be expecting you. I would advise you to bring along some worthy companions along the way…The lands are not as safe as they once were." said Wyrnn.

A bewildered Drake simply nodded and was escorted out of the Throne room.

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Drake was wandering the streets of Stormwind during the night searching for Tygra. He found her in the Park sitting on the broken Moonwell. Her gaze was fixated on the blue water as she ran her fingers across the surface creating ripples that flowed across the well.

"Tygra…How are you holding up?" asked Drake as he slowly approached the elf.

"He can't be gone…I mean he was there one second, and then the next…" Tygra looked up at the moon as it's light reflected off of the single lonely tear that slid down her face. "It's all my fault."

"Tygra, I'm truly sorry for what happened. I knew Kyavel. He was a good man. I understand how you feel but-"

"Do you understand Drake?! Do you have any idea what it' like to see the love of your life be murdered by malicious heartless monster and not be able to do anything about it? Do you know what it's like to have their blood rain down on you!?" snapped Tygra.

"Look Tygra, all I'm trying to say is that you can't blame yourself for this. There's no way anyone could have avoided this." Drake said, slightly unsettled by the druid.

"Do you know how he died? There was a monstrous pit lord their. He had no mercy and no soul. He was dismembering people and letting them bleed out allowing them to suffer immeasurably before they died . I was careless while I was fighting and managed to be incapacitated by that monster. He slowly began to place me under his foot and crush me like an egg, but Kyavel jumped in and attacked. The pit lord made sure I watched as he ripped off his arms, then his legs. When he was finished, that monster tossed his bleeding torso on top of me. Kyavel still lived but that look in his eyes…" Tygra said as she began to cry uncontrollably.

"It's ok Tygra…I'm here." Drake said as he held Tygra close. Tygra cried all night even as Drake walked her to her quarters within the city. Drake knew what it was like to lose loved ones to war, but he knew he had never felt what Tygra was feeling right now.


	8. To Orgrimmar

**(AUTHORS NOTE:**Aren't family fueds grand?...Startling family revelation coming up! Enjoy!)

Chapter 8: To Orgrimmar

After several days, Drake had gathered a squadron to accompany him to Orgrimmar. Many of the soldiers were simple city guards. Two of the members were exceptions, Longshot and Neluun. Neluun was a draenei Drake had met while he was stationed in Northrend while the Lich King was still alive. Neluun was not really a friend of Drake, Drake found the draenei to be a very spiteful and angry person, particularly towards the Horde and _especially _against orcs. Nonetheless, Neluun was a marvelous shaman and Drake could use his assistance. Drake was searching the city for the final member for his squadron: Tygra. He found her once again at the Park.

"Tygra…I'm departing for Orgrimmar…" stated Drake. Tygra turned to him and stared deep within his eyes.

"Be careful." replied Tygra emotionlessly. Drake sighed and approached the elf.

"Tygra, I would like for you to accompany me."

"Why…I'll only get in the way…" whispered Tygra.

"Look Tygra, I may not know what you feel like right now and I may never understand, but what I do understand is that we are at war with a force we can't even begin to comprehend! Now you can sit here and mourn Kyavel's death like a miserable widow or you can fight to protect those who are close to you and avenge his death! Ask yourself, would Kyavel want you to be like this?" pleaded Drake.

Tygra appeared to be taken back by Drakes outburst. She clenched her fist and approached him. She was so close to him, Drake could feel her breath escaping through her gritted teeth. Just as Drake thought she was going to slap him, Tygra sighed and released her fist.

"Perhaps…Perhaps you are right. Very well, I shall join you Drake…I will gather my things. " murmured Tygra as she slowly walked away. Drake looked in her hand and saw a necklace made of flowers and shrubbery. It was the necklace that Kyavel had proposed to Tygra with.

Drake and his squadron were waiting at Stormwind Harbor for Tygra. The elf arrived in her battle garmets and carrying a travel pack on her back.

"Well we're all here. Everyone on board." ordered Drake as he ushered his squad onto the boat.

"Tygra, I'm glad you decided to come." Drake said as the elf passed him.

"I only came to crush the demons' skulls under my feet." hissed Tygra without even facing Drake as she boared the ship. Longshot stood next to Drake and folded his arms.

"Seems we be havin ourselves a lil she-devil ey?" scoffed the dwarf as he followed Drake onboard.

"Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned....That's an understatement in this case" sighed Drake as he boarded the ship. Once the squadron boarded the ship set sail for Durotar.

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Drake arrived off the shore of Orgrimmar later that evening. His squadron exited the ship and began to head towards Orgrimmar.

"I can't believe we are assisting these savage mongrels…" growled Neluun.

"Neluun, I will have none of your spite on this mission. I brought you along merely for your prowess as shaman. Don't you dare step out of line." barked Drake.

"Very well…" hissed the Draenei. The Alliance force reached the broken gates of Orgrimmar and were approached by the guards. The the guards did not attack, but were cautious and gripped their axes tightly.

"We mean you no harm. We are ambassadors of the Alliance. We wish to speak with Thrall." said Drake. The orcs cautiously nodded and let the Alliance walk through. Neluun was trailing at the the back of the pack. He stopped and faced one of the guards, giving him a nasty leer. He thrusted himself towards the orc slightly, causing the orc to jump back defensively.

"Hmph…Coward." scoffed Neluun as he followed the Alliance squad.

Drake and his squad were escorted by guards to Thrall's chambers. They received plenty of spiteful looks and remarks on the way there. The squad arrived in Grommash Hold and stood before Thrall.

"So you are the Alliance ambassodors?" asked Thrall.

"Yes, we were sent by Lord Varian Wrynn. My name is Drake Valarian" answered Drake.

"Very well. We shall begin planning our next move then. What information do you have of these events?" asked Thrall as he left his throne and approached the squad.

"Not much. These demons have attacked our forces as I'm sure they have attacked you. All we have been able to figure out so far is that a gnome warlock going by the name of Nal might somehow be tied into this." said Drake. Thrall raised one his brows in curiosity.

"Intereseting…We received reports of a gnome warlock crossing into our territory in the Barrens not too long ago. He decimated an entire platoon before proceeding south…" said Thrall.

Before the conversation could continue, a large orc wearing broken black armor barged into the throne room accompanied by several other battered looking Horde members.

"Gargon, how went the battle?" Thrall asked eagerly.

"We…we won…but one of the rises of Thunderbluff was lost in the process. We did all we could." said Gargon.

"I see. This is terrible news, but at the very least we were able to kill those damn demons." grumbled Thrall.

"Drake we shall carry on this discussion tomorrow. I have business to attend to. My guards shall escort you to your quarters." said Thrall as he exited the room. Drake was following the guards when he saw a familiar face amongst the orcs who had entered the room.

"Draggo, it is good to see you!" said Drake as he held out his hand to the orc. A faint weak smile spread across Draggo's face as he shook the human's hand firmly.

"You to my friend. What brings you here?" asked Draggo.

"We are ambassadors of the Alliance. We sought out council with Thrall but it would seem there are more pressing matters at hand." explained Drake.

"Yes, pressing matters indeed. Drake, I would like you to meet my son, Draggar." said Draggo gesturing for his son to step forward. Draggar slowly stepped forward and saluted the human. Drake replied in kind.

"It is an honor to meet you Draggar. Your father is a great warrior and it would seem you followed in his footsteps…Pardon my asking, but you wouldn't happen to be a halfling would you?" asked Drake. Draggar shamefully looked to the ground.

"No need to be ashamed. It is a blessing to have the ancestry of two races flow in your veins. By the looks I would guess your mother is a draenei, correct?" asked Drake with a smile. Draggar looked back up in shock and nodded with a large grin. Aside from his parents and few close friends, no one had every praised his heritage before. Drake turned back expecting a violent outburst from Neluun after hearing of a half orc half draenei being, but to his surprise he heard nothing. In fact, Neluun wasn't even there!

"Where is Neluun?" asked Drake in a commanding tone. He knew Neluun n an orc city would only lead to chaos.

"The last we saw of him was when we were passing the refugee quarters sir." answered one the Alliance soldiers.

"Damnit! Tygra, Longshot, come with me. The rest of you, go to your quarters and wait for me there." commanded Drake as he rushed out of the throne room.

"Excuse my absence Draggo, we shall speak again soon. It seems I have pressing matters of my own." said Drake as he, Longshot, and Tygra ran out.

"…He's way to polite to be a soldier." chuckled Draggo as he turned to his son.

"Who was that man?" asked a curious Draggar.

"That, my son, would be none other than Drake Valarian." said Draggo with a grin. Draggar's eyes widened in shock.

"The same Drake Valarian who fought alongside you against the Lich King!?" asked Draggar. His father had told him many stories of his adventures in Northrend. Draggo held Drake in high regards, especially in his stories.

"The very one. Come, I'm sure your mother and sister are worried sick about us." said Draggo as he and his son began to exit the room.

"Of course they are. Can you blame them?" said Draggar.

"I suppose you're right…Well at least we won't have to hear you mother chastising us with her 'Alliance-Horde' peace talks. We can finally be warriors _and_ be free of her ridicule." joked Draggo. Draggar simply rolled his eyes at his father.

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Drake finally found Neluun amongst the Horde refugees. He was arguing with a draenei female, and by the looks of things they were both extremely upset.

"Neluun! What the hell are you doing here!" hollered Drake as he approached the enraged draenei.

"Stay out of this Drake, it does not concern you!" growled Neluun without even looking at his commander.

"Sister, what is wrong with you!? I thought you had left on an expedition and died! Now I come to find out you're held up here with these miserable green-skins!?" shouted Neluun.

"I had no choice, I knew you wouldn't approve of my actions so I did what my heart told me to do: I fled! I fled from your hate and the hate of your faction!" said the draenei woman.

"You mean _our _faction, little sister! Do you remember that it was these monstrous green skins that murdered our parents all those years ago!? They laid waste to our home world and brought us to the brink of extinction! Our parents died so we could live on and avenge them and they tasked me with looking over you!" yelled Neluun.

"No brother, you're wrong! Our parents died fighting for peace! They wouldn't have wanted us to become murderous avengers! These orcs are not the same ones that killed our parents! They have changed Neluun. They want peace just as we do." pleaded the draenei.

"Peace? Peace!? Peace with these mongrels!? No, I don't want peace. I want revenge for my ancestors! Why do you protect these monsters so vigorously, Kanya?" asked a curious Neluun.

"Mommy what's happening?" asked a small Draenei girl.

"Go back inside sweetheart, mommy will be there soon." whispered kanya as she shooed her child back into her tent.

"What is…She's a halfing! You allowed yourself to be violated by these, these-these _things!?_" hollered Neluun. He grasped onto his sisters arm tightly and began to drag her. "You're coming home Kanya. You have been brainwashed by these monsters."

"Neluun, get your hands off of her!" ordered Drake as he approached the draenei. Neluun angrily knocked Drake to the ground in a single blow. Before anyone else could make a move, a voice called out:

"What's going on here…" boomed the voice. Everyone tunred sharply to see two orc's, one with a rahter odd appearance.

"Who the hell are you?" snarled Neluun.

"My name is Draggo Dragonblade. Why are you grasping my wife…" Draggo said in a calm voice.

Neluun glared at Draggo and the other orc. It was very apparent he was also a halfing.

"So…you're the one…You're the one that turned my sister into a whore!" shouted Neluun as he tightened his grip on Kanya. Suddenly, Draggar ripped his swords from his belt and charged at Neluun.

"Release my mother you fiend!" shouted Dragger.

"Draggar, stop!" called Draggo, but his voice landed on deaf ears.

As Draggar approached, Neluun snickered and dropped Kanya to the ground. Once Draggar was close enough, Neluun ripped his gargantuan mace from his back and thrust it downwards at Draggar. Draggar just barely managed to block the blow with his blade, but the blow brought him down to his knees and shattered his blades into tiny fragments.

"May this blow vanquish this foul cursed birth from this world." prayed Neluun as he raised his mace once again.

"Neluun no!" cried Kanya. Neluun swung his hammer down with every bit of force he had. Draggo charged and attempted to stop the blow, but he did not make it in time. The sound of the mace striking metal echoed throughout the city.

Drake managed to get his sword between Draggar and the mace just in time. The paladin swung Neluun's mace to the side and brought the draenei down with one powerful punch to the face. Neluun glared up at Drake from the ground and attempted to get to his feet, but Drake placed the tip of his blade at Neluun's throat.

"What did I tell you Neluun…" hissed Drake. Neluun spit out some blood and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Tygra, Lonshot, take him back to the ship. He will not be staying in the city." ordered Drake as he lifted his sword from the draenei's neck. Tygra and Longshot cautiously approached Neluun. He quickly jumped to his feet and knocked their hands off of him.

"Fine! I rather sleep in the desert amongst the scorpions than in the city full of these green skinned monsters," Neluun said turning towards Kanya, "and a traitor to her race. I thought my sister died long ago…I was right…" barked Neluun as he angrily stormed off. Drake pulled Tygra to the side.

"Make sure he stays on the ship. Don't let him leave your sight." whispered Drake.

"I understand." replied Tygra. She passed the message along to Longshot as they escorted Neluun out of the city. Drake turned back to Draggo, Draggar, and Kanya.

"I…apologize for that outburst. Please forgive me." apologized Drake as he bowed. Draggo stepped over and lifted Drake up from his bow.

"Do not apologize. It is not your fault. In fact, I owe you my foolish son's life." said Draggo as he turned to his son who got to his feet, still shaken from the event.

"I would also like to thank you." said Kanya as she approached the two.

"What is your name?" asked Kanya as she curtsied before Drake.

"This would be Drake Valarian." said Draggo. Shock overcame Kanya as she stared at Drake.

"Sir Valarian, I have heard so much about you! It is an honor!" said Kanya.

"The honor is all mine. I must say of all the draenei I have encountered you are by far one of the most beautiful." said Drake as he took her hand in his and politely laid his lips on it.

"Oh my…" said Kanya as she blushed.

"Watch it kid…" said Draggo as he pulled Drake off of his wife. He knew Drake meant no harm in this action. Drake was too polite to come on to a woman like that in front of her own husband. They both laughed at the gesture.

"Well I must be taking my leave. I must speak with my troops. Farewell." said Drake as he walked off.

"Such a polite man reminds me of when you were younger. When you were a _gentleman_" Kanya said bluntly to her husband.

"I'm a warrior. I don't bow and kiss hands, I fight armies." scoffed Draggo.

"So…that was him huh…" said Draggo as his tone became serious.

"Yes…That was Neluun…my brother…" said Kanya as he wrapped her fingers around a pendant hanging from her neck.

"That's my uncle!?" called out Draggar in astonishment.

"Now is not the time Draggar…Go inside." ordered Draggo. Draggar obeyed as he entered the tent with a heavy look of confusion on his face.

"Do you want to talk abo-"

"No…I'll be fine…Really." said Kanya, cutting off Draggo as she went inside her tent. Draggo sighed and followed suit.


	9. A Little Stowaway and Big Information

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE:**Alright I know the actions kind of slipped a bit, but our heroes needed break =p. Anyways, the actin will pick back up in the next chapter, but until then enjoy the next plot twist...sort of...)

Chapter 9: Little Stowaway, Big Information, And Unlikely Companions

The next day Drake was called to Thrall's chambers once again. He arrived at Grommash hold to see Thrall and Draggo awaiting in the hold.

"Drake Valarian I have a proposal to make with you." said Thrall.

"And what exactly would this proposal be?" asked Drake.

"This gnome character…Nal? I don't believe his disappearance right before the demons arrived and the slaughter of my men is a mere coincidence. I'm creating a search team of powerful soldiers. Considering we are now in allegiance with the Allaince I believe it would be best if you and my men worked together to find this gnome." said Thrall as he turned to Draggo. "I have heard that you two have fought beside each other before. You two should work very well together." said Thrall.

"Uh, yes, Thrall, I believe at the moment that does seem like the most logically plan of action." replied Drake.

"Good. Draggo shall gather his men and join your soldiers. Together I'm sure you will be able to solve this quagmire." said Thrall. "That is all."

"Indeed. I bid you leave Thrall." said Drake as he exited the throne room. Draggo followed behind him.

"A lil blind sided huh?' said Draggo with a smirk of amusement.

"Yes, very much so! I was hoping to have talked this through a little more! This is a very delicate situation that requires extensive planning! We could very well be wasting our time in this search!" said Drake in harsh whispers.

"Well if you feel so strongly then why didn't you oppose the Warchief?" asked Draggo, knowing full well why Drake had not gone against Thrall's orders.

"I can't oppose the Warchief of the Horde! Are you crazy!? Not only is that rude, it's down right suicide!" hissed Drake.

"Drake, you'll never make it as a soldier if you keep being so damn polite. Get some scruff and be aggressive! Be a man!" snickered Draggo. He found he often pestered Drake for his gentle ways.

"I do believe that my assistance in Northrend is proof enough of my battle prowess!" scoffed Drake.

"True. I guess you're an exception you little peach." snickered Draggo as he gave his friend a joking smile. Drake playfully glared at Draggo's comment.

"I'm the one who told Thrall to go through with this plan to be honest." said Draggo.

"Why?"

"Because, Drake, I have a family. I have an astounding son, a wonderful wife, and a beautiful little girl that I care for with all of my being. We may just be going on a wild goose chase, but I'm willing to take a chance if it can save my family from this destruction than to sit back idly while we deliberate on the 'appropriate' plan of action." explained Draggo.

"I see..I knew you had a heart buried somewhere under all that muscle." Drake chortled.

"Don't be fooled Drake, these muscles have brought death too many." laughed Draggo.

"I'm sure. Listen, gather your men and meet with one of my soldiers at the entrance. He will lead you to our ship. Once we regroup we can head out and search for this Nal character….But there is one thing…Neluun…He-"

"Don't worry Drake, I can handle him if he steps out of line." said Draggo calmly.

"Alright then. I will have a talk with him to make sure he does not cause any trouble." said Drake as he headed off.

Drake arrived back at the boat with the majority of his men. When he approached the ship he noticed Tygra was sitting out front with a gnome tied up ad laying next to her. He seemed to be frightened.

"Tygra who is this?" asked Drake as he examined the gnome. The little guy was wearing simple clothes. He appeared to be a commoner.

"Good question. We found him stowed away on the ship. Says his name is Frin." explained Tygra as she snatched the gnome up by the rope with her staff and held him at eye level with Drake. The gnome was frantically flailing his arms and legs around.

"Was tying him up really necessary? I doubt he would try to escape from you. He's probably too scared to run at all. Release the poor guy." said Drake. Tygra sighed and transformed her hand into a claw and slashed loose the rope around the gnomes body and mouth.

"Oh thank you sir Valarian! It is true what they say of your kindess!" screeched the gnome.

"You're not off the hook that easy. What are you doing on my ship? Asked Drake as he stared down the gnome. Frin anxiously tapped his fingers together.

"Um…It's about Nal…I…" murmured the gnome. Drake leaned in close.

"What do you know Frin?" asked Drake in a serious tone.

"Well um…Look, Nal's a good guy. I've known him my whole life! We're like brothers! He'd never do anything to hurt anyone on purpose." babbled Frin.

"Get to the point Frin…" said Drake becoming slightly agitated. Frin released a heavy stressful sigh.

"Look…We're treasure hunters. I'm the brains, he's the brawns. I find the treasure, he gets us there safely. We've been doin it for years! Not too long ago I got news of great treasure in the Maelstrom. We shipped out. The seas were terrible. We barely made it to the island we were looking for, but we made it nonetheless. We found some weird ruins there and so we decided to explore…" Frin paused and sighed

"We found this…artifact. Some kind of pendant. I knew right away there was something wrong with it, something…Evil…But Nal had this weird fixation with it. He grasped the pendant regardless of what I said and we left. I thought nothing of it at the time but he soon began to change…" said Frin.

"How so?" asked Drake.

"Everything, his attitude his appearance. He seemed to become distant and lock himself inside his home all day and read these old books. His skin began to turn pale and these weird marks began to appear on his face. Before I could intervene he left…Next thing I knew we're under attack by demons…" said Frin.

"So it was this Nal guy who's causing all this mayhem! He will pay dearly…" growled Tygra.

"NO wait! You have to understand, Nal's a great guy! He's always fought to protect people, never to harm them, please don't think ill of him! Listen I think I know where he's going, but I'm not going to tell you unless you promise not to har-" before Frin could finish Tygra grasped the gnome by the throat tightly and lifted him high up into the air.

"Listen to me you tinker-tonkering fool! Your friend is the reason my fiance is dead, so you tell me where Nal is or I will take my vengeance upon you instead of him!" hollered Tygra. Frin gasped for breath as his face began to turn as blue as a draenei. Drake quickly intervened and forced Tygra to release the gnome.

"Tygra stop! Look, this could be our only shot at finding Nal, so let's compromise with this fellow. Perhaps he's right and we can resolve this peacefully. It's the only way we can solve this…" said Drake.

"Fine then. Continue with your damn diplomacy." snapped Tygra as she stormed back onto the ship.

"Pardon my friend Frin. She has…suffered great losses. Listen, lead us to Nal and we promise to do all we can to help him if he is causing this." said Drake.

"Thank you sir. Now before Nal left he had this map and marked some locations on it. I made a copy of it while he was occupied once. I'm not sure what's significant about these marks, but I know several places marked down have been…Well everything in that area was laid to waste… Now his marks were labeled in an order so he should be heading somewhere in Tanaris." explained Frin as he pulled a map from his pocket.

"Good. We will find your friend in no time then.' said Drake with a smile.

"So when are we leaving?" asked Frin.

"As soon as our friends arrive…" Drake said pleasantly.

Draggo arrived at the ship accompanied by one of Drake's soldiers along with several other Horde members. Drake recognized Crether, Fenron, and Drek'val, all whom he had met in Northrend, but there was a fifth member to the party. A blood elf woman was following them. She appeared to be a mage from her raiments.

"Draggo, I'm glad you could make it, although I was hoping you would bring a slightly…larger group with you…" said Drake.

"Don't worry, you know how capable the Wrathchildren are…and our guest is also a very capable fighter." said Draggo as he turned to the blood elf. She curtsied respectfully.

"Greetings. My name is Kataya." greeted the the elf. Drake bowed respectfully.

"Kataya is held in high regards amongst my fellow Horde. I assumed we might need her talents as mage." explained Draggo.

"Pleasant to meet you milady. Draggo we have more news on this Nal fellow-"

"Oooh…Goood. I'll enjoy slicing his soft pink flesh with my blades." snickered Crether sinisterly. Frin let loose a nervous gasp as he hid behind Drake.

"This wouldn't happen to be our 'Nal' friend would it?" asked Crether as he slowly approached Frin. Frin let loose another shrill cry.

"Crether, cut it out." Draggo ordered. Crether scoffed and stopped in his tracks.

"No this is Frin, a friend of Nal's. According to him Nal came across an artifact in the Maelstrom and became obsessed with it. Soon after he departed we were attacked by the demons. Nal seems to be traveling to locations on this map and leaving destruction everywhere he goes." explained Drake holding up the map.

"Dis be good at hear mon. Da faster we get ta him, da faster we can kill him." cheered Drek'val.

"Eh, not quite…You see, Frin is a close friend to Nal and doesn't want to see him get hurt. He's the only one who can navigate this map and he refuses to help us if we are going to hurt Nal." said Drake.

"Well well well, it would seem we have quite the dilemma. Perhaps a few, 'persuasive' slashes could convince this gnome otherwise…" hissed Crether as he slid his finger across his blade. Frin grimaced in fear.

"That's enough Crether…Alright then. We'll try to be diplomatic. But I warn you, we will defend ourselves if the situation calls for it." said Draggo. Frin thought about the idea for a moment and then nodded.

"Good so we are all in agreeance! Claire, go fetch Tygra, Longshot and Neluun off the ship." ordered Drake. The young soldier saluted and marched onto the ship.

"Draggo, a moment please…" said Fenron as he stepped to the side.

"Look I'm all for peaceful solutions, but these are extenuating circumstances. I honestly doubt we will be able to come to a peaceful solution. Now you know I have no problem working with the Alliance unlike our friends back there, but if this is going to be how we solve our problems I don't think we should let them be leading this hunt." whispered Fenron.

"I understand your distress my friend, but it's because these are extenuating circumstances that we must seize the only opportunity we have. Drake may not seem like it, but he is a very capable leader. If he doesn't own up then I will intervene when the situation calls for it." explained Draggo. Fenron nodded as they both rejoined Drek'val, Kataya and Crether.

Neluun, Longshot, and Tygra walked off the ship accompanied by the guard. Longshot appeared to be the only one in a pleasant mood.

"Howdy ther!" greeted the dwarf as he approached the Horde. Drek'val and Crether shot at him with nasty glares. The dwarf was becoming discouraged until Fenron approached. The tauren towered over the dwarf staring down at him. Fenron kneeled dwon and grbbed the dwarf's hand in his.

"Greetings. I am Fenron Bloodmane." greeted the tauren. With a happy look, Longshot grabbed the taurnes heavy hand in delight.

"Ey thar Fenny! The name be Longshot!"

"Fenny? I must say, that's a first." chuckled Fenron. The dwarf replied with a happy grin and let go of Fenron's hand. Draggo and Drake smiled. It was good to see that at least someone else besides just them would get along. Then they saw the glares that was being shot back and forth between their men.

"Oh, Drake, I forgot, A package come for ye. 'Twas delivered by a Stormwind messenger. Says it's from a 'Darius Tyring'. It's heavy as an ogre!" said Longshot as he handed a large package to Drake. Drake anxiously grabbed the package and ripped open the box. Inside was Darius' famous sword, the Lion's Fang. It was a large thick golden blade with smooth and curvy sides. On the front of the blue handle was a large Alliance crest and fur came down from where the blade and the handle met. Attached to the handle was a letter. it read,

'Get'em boy!' in Darius' sloppy handwriting. Drake laughed and wiped a single prideful tear from his eye.

"Well…let's get moving then!" said Draggo as he called down Frostwing from the skies. Everyone got onto their mounts and formed up behind Drake and Draggo. Frin sat on Drake's horse in front of him on the saddle.

"Lead the way!" said Drake as he rushed his horse onward. The real journey had finally begun, but the harsh trials destined for the warriors was looming ahead as well.


	10. A Worthy Adversary

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE:** The plot thickens when our heroes make a very significant discovery! Enjoy!)

Chapter 10: A Worthy Adversary

Draggo and Drake's expeditionary entourage had made marvelous progress. They had reached the southern Barrens area by nightfall and decided to set up camp. The Alliance and Horde forces seemed to spread apart for the most part.

"We have quite the adventure ahead of us don't we?" said Drake as he sat by the fire. He was speaking to Draggo. The orc was accompanying him and feeding his proto-drake.

"Indeed we do. Having a group without cooperative members is destined for failure. It seems that aside from us, Fenron, and Longshot our companions will be trying to kill each other instead of finding this Nal character." sighed Draggo as he tossed a large piece of kodo meat over to the dragon. Frostwing quickly went to work on the tasty morsel.

"But perhaps all is not lost. Look over there." said Draggo pointing to Fenron and Tygra. They seemed to be having a decent conversation.

"I doubt that. Tygra does not care much for the Horde. She only tolerates druids because of her own allegiance as one. More than likely that's all they will be able to talk about." sighed Drake as he unsheathed his golden blade and began to polish it.

"You seem have an odd fascination with that blade Drake. Every weapon has it's own story. What is the story behind that one?" asked Draggo pointing at Lion's Fang.

"This sword has a very rich history. You see my mentor, Darius Tyring, was once a great hero of the Alliance. He has participated in every war within his lifetime, aside from the past wars within the recent years. He was truly a magnificent soldier. He was able fight days on end with this sword and when the battle was done, he would stand over his enemies bodies as the sun gleamed off the blade towards another day; another day when Darius Tyring would slay his foes." preached Drake.

"Darius has been like a father to me. For him to bestow this blade upon me…It is truly a blessing…So then, while we're on the topic, tell me of your blade. As you said, every weapon has a story. I see you still hold the same sword from Northrend." asked an intrigued Drake.

"Well you are correct about that." smirked Draggo as he pulled out his own blade.

"Dragon Strike is an ancient blade amongst my clan that has been passed down through the main family from generation to generation. Like your sword, this sword has brought death to many. It is fabled that a dragon soul is encased within the orb at the bottom of the handle." said Draggo gently sliding his hand across the blade.

"Although this blade is more than a weapon to me. You see, the blade goes to the first born of every generation. Before my brother could accept the sword…Well as you saw in Northrend, his fate found him…" murmured Draggo sorrowfully.

"When he returned, or what was left him returned, he refused to accept the sword…When he passed away at Icecrown during that battle…Well you know the story. It just reminds me that I am fighting so good men must not suffer the terrible things my brother endured." said Draggo triumphantly.

"I see…Dragazar was a grand warrior. It was truly an honor to meet him all those years." whispered Drake as he stoked the fire.

"Thank you friend. Now is the time for rest. Fenron and Tygra will be shifting lookout shifts. We're leaving at first light." said Draggo as he crawled into his tent.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, the expedition continued. They came across a small group of dead Horde soldiers. They were identified as a patrol party. Their bodies had been burned to crispy skeletal remains. Draggo forced the men to stop each time to bury the dead, although Neluun voiced is dissapproval each time saying they were wasting time.

The group had arrived in Thousand needles when Longshot noticed something odd.

"Drake, Draggo, ye's might wanna be takin a look at these…" said the hunter as he stared at the ground from atop his bear. The two leaders approached the hunter and observed the ground.

"I don't see anything but dust and rock." said Drake. Longshot rolled his eyes.

"Of course ya don't, ya don't have trained eyes like I do. You see these marks? These are the marks we been seeing along the way. Im guessing thes tracks are the from our Nal fella." explained the dwarf pointing to some misshapen dirt.

"Well what's the problem then?" asked Draggo.

"Well these tracks are a few days old…But these tracks over here are the same tracks, but they are fresh. More than likely made not but on hour ago." said the dwarf pointing to marks that resembled footprints.

"Well what does that mean?" asked Drake.

"It means that Mr. Nal got whatever he was looking for and is headin somewhere else you damn fool." hissed Kataya

"You show Drake some respect you disgrace of an elf!" growled Tygra.

"Oooooo, a catfight…How fun.' giggled Crether.

"Ahh, kaldorei. They think so highly of themselves. It's is a shame you could not have evolved from your mangy, barbaric ways like the grand sindorei…"giggled Kataya.

"And become a mindless whore addicted to magic? No thank you. I have some class." snapped Tygra with an evil smile. Kataya began to walk towards Tygra with her hands wrapped in fire; Tygra walked towards the mage her hand become a large feline paw. Draggo stepped between the two before they could attack.

"That's enough! Kataya, respect your superiors! Like it or not, these are our companions and we are going to need their help." ordered Draggo. The elves exchanged nasty glares before receding back.

"Oh come now Draggo, you may be married but I know you can't hate the sight of two lovely ladies exchanging blows can you? Hehehe." laughed Crether maniacally.

"Stop instigating Crether. You're not helping the situation." barked Draggo.

"I see the mongrel thinks he can be civilized. How cute." mocked Neluun. Draggo simply ignored the comment.

"Uh, well…Yes, these tracks mean that our little Nal fella is backtracking." said Longshot, thrown off by the event. Drake turned to Frin who was trembling on Drakes horse staring at the intimidating elves.

"Frin, what's Nal's next destination?" asked Drake.

"Uh…Well we were heading for Tanaris, so it looks like after that he would be heading for Feralas." said the gnome.

"That's consistent with the track marks." said Longshot observing the ground.

"Good, that means he's close." said Drake. After he said that, a loud series of shrill centaur cries came from the north. Draggo and Drake quickly assembled their men and headed north towards the disturbance.

The group arrived at a scene of genocide. Slain centuar encompassed the village. All the bodies were either torn apart, burned, or in some serious cases even worse…

The bodies were fresh, _very _fresh. The murderer couldn't be any further than a few hundred yards from here. In fact, he was much closer than that. One of the Alliance guards spotted some movement near a pile of supplies. The group slowly approached and saw a gnome rummaging through some of the centaurs supplies.

The gnome had a very disturbing appearance. His skin was extremely pale and his hairs long and mangled. His eyes were very dark, in fact there was barely any white. He wore large extravagant gothic looking robes adorned with bones and skulls. He also had a large staff with an orb black orb wrapped in jagged bones and adorned with skulls. The gnome quickly turned and faced the group.

"And who might you be…" said the gnome whitely in a shockingly deep voice.

"Are you Nal?" asked Drake in serious tone.

"Perhaps I am. Are you looking for this Nal?" asked the gnome as he stared down the men. Something about him made the group unusually uneasy.

"Nal! Nal, are you ok!?" screeched Frin as he leaped off of Drake's horse and ran over to the gnome. Nal simply stared at Frin emotionless.

"Frin…What are you doing here…"asked Nal.

"Well… I was worried about you. With all these demons popping up I just…wanted to see if you were ok." said Frin nervously.

"Yes..I am fine…" said Nal still emotionless.

"You wouldn't happen to know why all these centuar are dead would you…" asked Draggo. Nal simply shook his head.

"Oh really mon? Maybe it be because ya be rummagin through their belongings or maybe it be because these bodies are fresh, but I don't belive ya!" snapped Drek'val.

"Well there's nothing I can do about that now is there? I see free things, I'm gonna take em. As for who killed them, not my problem." said Nal smoothly.

"Perhaps something you _can _tell us about is this map…" asked Drake holding up a map. Nal showed a shocked expression for a moment before simply smiling and turning to Frin.

"Frin…I thought we were friends." said Nal in a pleasant, tey uneasy tone.

"We are Nal, we always have been!" said Frin.

"No no no. Friends don't try to ruin other friend's _plans!_" snarled Nal as brought Frin to the ground with an abnormally powerful punch. Nal was charging a shadow blast when Kataya fired a pyroblast at the gnome. Nal grasped the fire within his hand it clenched his fist extinguishing the fire.

"Attack!" ordered Drake, his men rushing into battle. Draggo and his men charged as well. Nal simply giggled as his hands were engulfed in shadow. He thrust his hands into the air and gigantic green flamed boulders rained from the skies. The boulders crashed into the ground, exploding with the earth on impact instantly killing several Alliance soldiers. The boulders began to unfold and reshape into large monstrous Infernals. The first person to charge the Infernals was Neluun. He soared through the air with his hammer in the air. An infernal sired a torrent of flame from its mouth but Neluun called upon the elements and water shot from his hand extinguishing the flames. Neluun encased his mace in solid rock as he smashed the infernal in the chest. The monster went down with a shrill cry of anger. Neluun ripped his mace out from the creatures chest and avoided it's flailing limbs. He then smashed his mace into it's head, crushing it. The flames ceased to spread throughout the creature and it's limbs became simple rocks. Without Neluun knowing a large infernal was chargin behind him. He turned around to late and the creature swung one of it's boulder like hands at the draenei. Draggo leaped between Neluun and the Infernal, blocking the blow with his shield. Draggo leaped up and sliced the creature's rock body in half with on swift blow of Dragon Strike. Draggo turned to Neluun and smirked. Neluun replied with a look of disgust and continued to fight the other Infernals.

While the others were fighting, Crether went after Nal. Crether was a dedicated rogue and believed the mission always came first. It's how he made his money. He swiftly dashed past the bloody battle going on and raced towards Nal who was attempting to flee. Nal attempted to blast the pesky undead away from him, but Crether managed to doge whatever he threw at him by leaping onto high rocks and ducking behind large mounds of dirt. Crether pulled out a throwing knife and hurled it at the gnome. The knife caught the gnome in the leg and brought him to the ground. Crether sprinted towards the gnome with his sword raised when Frin leaped in front of his fallen friend.

"Stop! We had a deal!" called out the gnome.

"Out of the way munchkin!" snarled Crether. While the Forsaken was distracted, Nal fired a massive shadow spell at the rogue from behind Frin, knocking him to the ground.

"Well, maybe we are still friends…" laughed Nal as he rose to his feet and ripped the knife from his legs.

"Nal stop this! This isn't like you!" pleaded Frin.

"Oh no? Is this like me?" asked Nal as he aimed his hand towards the fallen rogue. A black mist came out from his sleeve and wrapped itself around the dazed rogue. The rogue began to violently flail about and howl uncontrollably. Nal cackled manically.

"Nal quit it, you're going to kill him!" cried Frin as he grasped his friend's arm.

"I don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't die…" giggled Nal. Crether continued to shriek in agony.

"No Nal! It's that pendant isn't it!? Give it here!" yelled Frin as he grabbed the pendant hanging from Nal's neck. Nal quickly turned around and pinned Frin to the wall by the throat.

"Look you insignificant waste of a man! Your friend is dead! I rid myself of all of my weaknesses so that I could become powerful! To obtain the power I desire I must rid myself of my wretched past…and that includes you doesn't it!?" snarled the gnome.

"No, you're still Nal! What would…What would Izzy think of you right now." gasped Frin as he tried to breathe through his gripped airway.

"Don't you EVER mention that name around me! **EVER**!" roared Nal as his eyes became engulfed in flame.

"Frin!" called out a voice. Nal and Frin both looked over to see Drake and Draggo along with what remained of their forces. They had defeated the Infernals.

"You fools! You can't stop what's coming! My Lord will engulf your world in shadow! Prepare yourselves for the end of the world! I leave you with a parting gift…Farewell!" called out Nal. He dropped Frin to the ground and fired several shadow blasts at gargantuan nearby peak. The peak began to crumble and collapse. Amidst the chaos, Nal summoned a winged demon and soared off into the skies.

"Everybody, run for it!" shouted Draggo. The soldiers began to retreat from the raining earth. Along the way , a rock smashed upon Drake's helm knocking him to the ground. Dazed and confused, Drake looked through fuzzy vison up at the fallin peak. Just as a large boulder came tumbling for him, someone began to drag Drake out from the chaos. Before he could see who it was, Drake lost consciousness.

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Drake awoke in a heavy sweat. His head was throbbing and he was slightly dizzy.

"Take it easy there, you took a pretty nasty blow." came a burly voice. Drake squinted and was able to conclude the voice was coming from Draggo. Drake felt his head and could feel a bandage wrapped around the top half of his head. He began to remember the events that had occurred in his last conscious moments.

"Wha…What happened…" mumbled Drake as he stared at Draggo in a confused look.

"You got nailed, that's what happened, and not in the good way." snickered Draggo.

"You picked the men of your little group wisely…or, in this case, women." said Draggo with a smile. Drake turned to see a woman with long black hair and elegant silk robes. He remembered picking her up for his group. She was a priest. Her name was…was…

"Sylvia?" asked Drake.

"It's good to see you're alright Sir Valarian." said Sylvia in a relieved tone.

"She's also the one responsible for fixin you up. She's a good companion." said Draggo

"Sylvia…I owe you my life…Thank you…" moaned Drake.

"It's quite alright. It's my job to look over my allies. It's why you hired me, remember?" chuckled Sylvia as she delicately tucked her bangs behind her ears.

"Nonetheless, thank you. I'm glad to see some of my soldiers survived the ordeal…" said Drake. Sylvia and Draggo both got looks of depression.

"Drake…Almost all the soldiers died…" whispered Daggo. Drake looked horrified.

"The only survivors were Neluun, Longshot, Tygra, Kataya, Fenron, Drek'val, and…" Draggo grimaced as he looked at the ground in shame.

"What of that Forskane fellow?" asked Drake.

"We got him out of there but that gnome did some nasty work on him…Hopefully he'll pull through." murmured Draggo.

"What of Frin? Did he survive?" asked a frantic Drake. Frin was the only one who could decipher the map.

"Yes, we got him out just in time. He's really torn up by all this." said Sylvia.

"Rest my friend. You must recover…" said Draggo as he left the tent. Drake fell back in his bed with his hands over his face. How could he let this happen!? He was responsible for those mens' lives and just let them all die!

"Sylvia, thank you for the assistance, you can leave now." whispered Drake. he just wanted to be alone.

"Well, uh...Sir Valarian...I, uh was intending on staying here…your wounds require much attention. I would rather not leave your side." mumbled Sylvia in an odd nervous tone

"Very well then…Thank you." Drake said. He rather not have her see him in such despair. At least he knew what he had to do know: he had to kill Nal!


	11. Remember What You Fight For

Chapter 11: Remember What You Fight For

Draggar sat within his quarters miserably. His mother was occupied tending to his little sister. He couldn't believe that his father had forced him to stay here! Did his father think of him as weak? Incapable? A mere inconvenience on the battlefield? What an insult! Draggar was constantly praised for his efforts in battle, even by his father!

"Stay here with your mother and sister. Protect them." he had said. They were perfectly safe within the city. The demons weren't even capable of breaking through the cities defenses.

Draggar lethargically tapped the tip of his blade. If his father really wanted him to protect his family he would have allowed him to accompany him and bring the fight to the demons; that was Draggar's opinion. Draggar left his house and began to roam the city until he eventually found a small tavern. Inside he found one his old friends Zenku. Zenku was a troll hunter and long time companion of Draggar. They had fought in many battles together. Zenku was one of Draggar's few friends who looked past his halfing heritage, most likely because he was ridiculed for his family as well. His mother and father were a treacherous duo that wreaked havoc across the lands. They were thieves and murderers. When they were captured, Zenku was a mere child. He was adopted by an orc family but never escaped ridicule for his parent's acts.

"Well my friend, it would seem it's da end of da world." said Zenku as he took a deep slurp of ale.

"Yes…And what're we doing? Nothing! We are merely standing by while these demons invade our world!" growled Draggar as he smashed his fist on the countertop. Zenku lazily raised his brow as he turned to his friend.

"Take it easy mon. Life aint worth living if ya can't enjoy yaself. Sure we all may die soon, but I know _I__'m_ dying happy, see?" said Zenku as he let loose a large smile and took another large gulp of ale.

" Well that may be fine for you, but I refuse to sit back idly and let these demons gain a foothold on us. There must be something I can do…" Draggar pondered the thought for a moment before slowly looking to his tipsy friend.

"Zenku…How well can you track someone?" asked Draggar. Zenku grinned in a slightly mischievous way before chuggin the rest of his ale.

"I could track a rabbit in a mountain through a blizzard _blindfolded!" _bragged Zenku as he burped rudely. The smell of several different spirits erupted from his mouth.

"Good. We're going on a hunt then…Meet me at the rear Orgrimmar gate in two hours" said Draggar as he rose from his seat. Zenku already had another beer in his hand before Draggar left the pub.

Draggar thought that his act was slightly rash, but maybe rash decisions were what needed to be made. His father told him to protect his family and he sure as hell was going to do it; he was just going to do it his own way. Draggar began to prepare for his journey. Once he had all the materials he needed there was only one last order of business to attend to, something that had been bothering him recently.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Night had fallen upon the city. Kanya had just put Velemere to sleep with a lullaby. Draggar walked over and sat next to his mother as they both watched over the little one.

"When this is all over I pray that she can put this behind her. All of this…It's too much for her to deal with." whispered Kanya gently.

"Mother…There's something I have been meaning to ask you…" began Draggar.

"What is it my son?" asked Kanya. Draggar looked into his mothers gentle eyes and sighed a little.

"That draenei…Neluun…Tell me about him." asked Draggar. Kanya's eyes quickly became filled with sadness. She turned away from her son and gripped a pendant hanging from her neck. It was a blue crystal with purple rings wrapped around it. Draggar never really knew what it was or where it came from, only that in times of great sadness his mother would grip the medallion tightly.

"I guess you deserve to know. You know the history of your fathers family, it is only right you know mine…" said Kanya softly.

"Long ago, before the portal between Azeorth and Draenor opened, my parents were honorable paladins within the city of Shattrath. They were very peaceful and kind people. No matter the situation, they always sought a peaceful diplomatic solution. They lived their for many years, throughout their marriage, the gave birth to…three children." Kanya paused as a lone tear slid down her cheek and landed on her pendant, spreading across the width of the crystal.

"You see there was Neluun me and…Naruuna…" sobbed Kanya. Draggar began to feel bad for having to bring his mother to tears by forcing her to relive her past, but he was too intrigued to stop her.

"Naruuna was the youngest of us all. She was such a vibrant young girl. She was adored by everyone in the city and could lighten up anyone's day with her cheerful demeanor…" said Kanya. Although these memories brought a smile to Kanya , the tears came ever so swiftly.

"Then, one day, The orcs began to attack. We didn't think they would be able to break through the city, but they were so strong. It was decided that the strongest warriors of the city would hold off the orcs while the civilians escaped. I wasn't aware of this at the time, but it was practically guaranteed all who stayed behind would die…Your grandparents stayed behind." said Kanya. She looked down at Velemere and lightly flowed her hand through the girl's hair. Velemere smiled in her sleep and shifted a bit before laying motionless again.

"They told my brother to look after Naruuna and me. We were being rushed out of the city when I realized that Naruuna was gone. I broke free of the crowd and rushed back into the city to find her. She was at our old home. I know why she had gone back. She wanted the pendant that our parents had gotten for her when she was born. She had forget it in the rush of the evacuation." explained Kanya as she gripped the crystal tightly.

"She wasn't alone in the house. A monstrous orc was rummaging through our home when I arrived. He wasn't aware of me when I arrived. I managed to sneak past him and find my sister hiding in the in her room, with the pendant clenched tightly in her hand. I quickly began to get us out of the house, but as we were leaving the orc spotted us. He chased us out of the house and…" Kanya stopped and closed her eyes. Water gushed from beneath her eyelids like a fountain. Even Draggar could not help but allow a few tears to roll out of his eyes.

"Naruuna tried to run away but the orc cut her down as she was running. He came for me next, but just as he was about to swing, Neluun leaped onto his back and stabbed the orc in the back of the head with a kinfe he had grabbed from orcs belt. He had returned to find us. Neluun rushed me out of the city, but not before I took the crystal Naruuna gripped tightly, even after the life had left her body…" sobbed Kanya. She looked down and stared at the gem intensely.

"Eventually, we grew up and became part of the Alliance. We both became shamans and fought the Horde. For a long time I despised orcs just as much of my brother. I still saw them as monstrous creatures that didn't deserve to live; that is of course until I met your father." Kanya said. She seemed relieved to finally begin to recall the happier moments of her life.

"He was kinder to me that any other being had ever been to me, Horde or Alliance. He saved me from several perils despite my spiteful feelings toward him. No matter what I said to him or did to him he was always kind to me saying, 'I will not fight you If I do not need to. I'm a warrior, not a murderer.' Eventually, we grew fond of each other and married. He soon showed me the efforts the New Horde was making and I was convinced that the orcs I knew as a child were no more. It would seem my brother does not feel the same way…" said Kanya.

"…Mother…I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's alright my son…I knew one day I would have to tell you…" said Kanya. She turned to Velemere and smiled. "She looks just like my sister."

Draggar rose up and took one last look at Kanya and Velemere. Know he knew he had to leave not only to protect his mother and sister, but to ensure that his mother never had to endure a loss like that of her sister again.

"I will return soon mother, there are errands I must attend to." lied Draggar. He knew his mother didn't want him out fighting demons.

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm your mother I know what you're up to." said Kanya calmly. Draggar froze. How did mothers seem to know everything?!

"Look my son, You may always be my child but your an adult now. I can't tell you how to live your life and neither can your father. All we want is for you to be safe, but if you feel you must fight this war, fight with all of your heart." said Kanya as she rose from her seat. She took one last look at her pendant before removing it from her neck and placing it in Draggar's hands.

"Mother, I can't take this…" Draggar muttered as he gazed at the necklace. Kanya forced Draggar's fingers to wrap around the pendant.

"No my son, please take it. My sister died because of the very same monster that threatens our world now. You take this as a reminder of what you're fighting for. You fight to protect those who live and to honor those who have fallen to evil." Kanya said. She placed a single, soft, loving kiss upon her sons forehead.

"Be safe my son."

Draggar nodded and embraced his mother before leaving the tent.

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The moonlight cascaded over the desert lands of Durotar as Draggar rushed out of Orgrimmar on his bear. Zenku was lazily laying upon his raptors neck giggling and slobbering. His raptor did not seem to appreciate it very much. He was accompanied by a blood elf mounted upon a black wolf.

"Zenku I was hoping you wouldn't be smashed out of your mind. I prefer not to be led by someone who can't even walk in a straight line." sighed Draggar.

"Hey, we both know I do a much bettuh job at trackin when I had drink or two…or three…or ten…" giggled the troll. As much as Draggar didn't want to admit it, his troll friend was right. The entire time Draggar had known the drunkard, he performed better under inebriation than when he was sober. The only problem was his nonchalant attitude got him into trouble.

"Who is this?" asked Draggar staring down the elf. The elf was a skinny fellow with tight dark clothing and and eye patch over his left eye. His hair was shaped like fire and its orange color resembled flames as well. His eyes were abnormally bright green; they almost appeared to glow in the darkness of the night. The elf grinned evilly when Draggar asked of him.

"This be Haldamir, a great rogue fella I met while I was travelin! I figured we could use some help in case we ran into any trouble." Zenku said as he flopped around on his raptor, causing the monster to sway back and forth.

"Well, how much does he cost? I know rogues services don't come cheap." said Draggar staring at the elf with a suspicious leer.

"Oh, there is no charge my friend." said the elf cooly and politely. Draggar raised a suspicious eyeborw and turned to Zenku.

"Yup. See, Haldamir owes me. I just busted him out of the Orgrimmar holding cells. Told him if he helped us we'd let him go free." gurgled Zenku grinning as he thought how smart he was.

"You did what!? Zenku, of all of the idiotic things yo-"

"Sshhshshsh! Hush ya mouth mon! Ya don't want the guards knowin we're here with im!" said Zenku with slurred words.

"I assure you, you will change your mind when you witness my talents in action." said the elf. "Besides I have my own reason for coming with you besides paying off my debt. I need to find my mate." said Haldamir with an evil grin.

"Well, lets hope we don't have to use your talents. Zenku…lead the way." sighed Draggar. Zenku nodded and made some clicking noises to his raptor. The raptor hissed and ran off, followed closely by Draggar and Haldamir. Draggar gripped his pendant tightly and help it up in the air. The moonlight seemed to shine through the gem and cascaded a colorful light show around him. Draggar placed the necklace around his neck and tucked it in his armor. He would avenge Naruuna and all the other innocents who died because of Sargeras.


	12. Only In A Dream

Chapter 12: Only In A Dream

After recovering from Nal's attack, Draggo and Drake's expedition moved on to Feralas. They roamed the jungle searching for the gnome, but to no avail. They decided to set up camp and continue to search for Nal in the morning. Draggo was walking around the campsite when he noticed Frin sitting on a rock sadly staring at a photograph in his hand.

"Something troubling you?" asked Draggo. Frin jumped in shock from the massive orc's voice and slipped off the rock.

"No, I'm okay…I just…I miss Nal. He was like a brother to me…" said the gnome as he tried to climb back onto the rock. Draggo lifted the gnome up and placed him gently on the rock.

"I understand how you feel. I too lost someone very close to me to evil." said Draggo. The gnome turned to the orc and stared at him strangely.

"Really?"

"Yes. I know you feel like you need to save him, and that is honorable…believe me we will do all we can to save Nal, but under these circumstances, the chances are slim." said Draggo.

"I understand. When he attacked us at Thousand Needles I realized the Nal I knew died when he found that pendant. If he has to die, then so be it. It's for the good of the world… It's all my fault, I should have never made us go there…" said Frin dropping the photo to the ground and turning around on the rock. Draggo frowned and picked the photo up. In the photo was Frin and Nal, each with an arm around the others neck. Frin was holding some kind of artifact while Nal was holding a large bag with gold coins falling from the top. Nal seemed much less evil in the picture. His hair was well kept and his skin looked healthy.

"Tell me a little bit about Nal." asked Draggo as he placed the photo in Frin's lap. The gnome picked up the photo and gazed into it longingly.

"Well, me and Nal have known each other for years. I hired him as a bodyguard once when I went on an expedition through some old ruins. While there were became real close friends. We began to stick together all the time. He even introduced me to his girlfriend Izzy…" explained Frin as he averted his gaze to the skies.

"Izzy was a real character. Nal was always a free spirit and did things his way, but Izzy was always able to put him out of place if he ever got out of control. They had been together for several years when I met them. Izzy was a sassy girl, but she was lovable nonetheless. Frin finally mustered up the courage to ask her for her hand in marriage and the money to afford a ring for her, but the day he was going to propose to her she left to go explore some ruins in Northrend. Months passed with no news until one day Nal got a message saying that she had died in a blizzard. Nal was devastated, but eventually he got over…Then again, you never really get over anything like that." said Frin sadly.

"Interesting…Perhaps that has something to do with all of this. You don't seem like the kind to buddy up with an evil person. I trust Nal is a good person and his actions are somehow led by good intentions, however misguided they may be." said Draggo as he smile at the gnome. Frin seemed to take pleasure in someone believing in Nal's humanity.

"Drake needs you both back at camp, he's got something to tell us. He says it's important." said Sylvia as she approached the two. They both nodded and followed her back to the campsite.

The group was huddled around Longshot as he sat in front of the map they were tracking Nal with. His arms were folded and his goggles were lifted up onto his forehead. He had a very serious look about him. Draggo looked and saw Crether huddled alone in the corner of the group, seemingly oblivious to what was going on. He still seemed to be affected by whatever Nal had done to him.

"I think I might know what are Nal friend's doin." said Longshot as he rubbed Betsy's head.

"I've picked up a lot of information lookin for me past over the years. Along with that information, I've heard a many o' stories and myths and legends…" Longshot pointed to each of the marks indicated.

"Each one of these marks is located at ruins with fabled treasure in it. Now originally I thought of these stories as hogwash and swashbuckle, but for each place marked I found a relation. Each of these places is connected with similar myths and legends. Apparently they are supposed to be part of some kind of ancient ritual that's been around since…Well now one really knows. All that is known, in the stories anyways, is that the summoning ritual is supposed to be one of the most evil things ever created and the Titans themselves watched over the items held at these locations." said Longshot.

"That summoning ritual is probably what's bring all of these demons here." said Fenron.

"Aye Fenny. Frin, could ya draw me a picture of that medallion that ye found in the Maelstrom?" asked Longshot handing Frin a pen and parchment.

"Yes, I think so." said Frin. He began to scribble a crude drawing of the medallion and handed it to Longshot. The dwarf examined the drawing carefully. It was a large circular gem with markings that appeared to be some incomprehensible incantation. Longshot pulled a book out of a pocket placed on Betsy's saddle and began to flip through the pages.

"Well looky here. This pendant is related to the same legends as the locations Nal's been visiting." said the dwarf. "Apparently, Sargeras managed to get two powerful demonic artifacts into the world before the Well of Eternity was destroyed." began Longshot "The staff, Ghal'Rok'Gor, and the Pendant of Unending Suffering. These two items was thought to be mere legends, but it would seem they be real. They have a strong connection to the demon worlds and the Twisting Nether. Although the staff was destroyed in the explosion of the Well of Eternity, the pendant alone is enough to summon powerful demons into our world. If the pieces of Ghal'Rok'Gor are reassembled and combined with the pendant, Sargeras will roam our world and destroy every living thing here…" said Longshot. The entire group fell silent. Even Betsy layed down and put her paws over her head.

"This is inconceivable! How did the pieces of the staff get spread across the world?" asked Kataya.

"According to the legends, a secret ancient group of people were ordered by the Titans to hide these artifacts and watch over them for all eternity. Don't think thy did a very good job…" said Longshot in a depressed voice.

"Dammit! And these artifacts have just been lying around this whole time!? What kind of guards let some measly little gnome grab some of the most evil and powerful objects in the world!?" hollered Neluun.

"Well the legends go on to say that anyone who holds the pendant will have their powers increased ten fold as they will become infused with demonic energies." said Longshot as he read through more pages of his book.

"Demons…demons bad…" whispered Crether as he stared into the fire blankly

"Oh, this be fantastic! We got a demonic gnome runnin around summoin demons into da world, and to make matters worse he's bring the Destroyer here too!?" screeched Drek'val.

"Yes. And That's exactly why we need to stop him now." grumbled Draggo.

"But there is one thing that's been troubling me…"said Longshot as he stared at the text curiously.

"What is is it?" asked a curious Sylvia.

"According to this, it would be impossible for Ghal'Rok'Gor to be reassembled. One of the pieces of the staff was destroyed in the explosion of the Well of Eternity." said Longshot. "The only thing I could think Nal would do is to use the Caverns of Time to go back in time and stop this, but that's not marked on the map and he had already visited Tanaris when we found him. This is his next location, but I don't see how this is going to help him." explained Longshot pointing to a spot in the northwestern region of Feralas."

What the hell does that mean!?" yelled Tygra, frustrated by this whole event.

"We should know better than anyone else my sister…" said Fenron as he gloomily stared at the map. Tygra gave the tauren a strange look before widening her eyes in horror She quickly ran over to the map and looked at one of the places marked.

"The Dream Bough…" murmured the elf.

"What's the Dream Bough?" asked a confused Drake.

"The Dream Bough is one of the four known entrances into the Emerald Dream…Inside the Emerald Dream is what Azeroth would have been like if sentient races had never lived there…in it's pure form…" explained Tygra as she fell to her knees in desperation. "In the Emerald Dream the Well of Eternity never exploded, but that staff would have also never been destroyed.

"So that's where Nal's heading? To get some unexisitng artifact in the dream realm? Oh this is grand!" laughed Kataya.

"Makes sense. If the Emereld Dream be some kind of alternate reality, it's possible another form of the staff was sent there by Sargeras." said Longshot.

"Perhaps that artifact is the cause if the Nightmare…" propsed Sylvia

"Alright then. Our mission is clear: stop Nal from getting that ece of Ghal'Rok'Gar from the Emerald Dream. I think considering the situation, we should keep moving." said Drake. For once, the group was in compliance and they began to disperse. Suddenly, Draggo noticed that something was missing…_someone_…

"Where's Frin at?" asked Draggo. Everyone looked around but could not find him.

"First things first, we need to find Frin!" ordered Draggo.

"I don't know if you're hearing things right, but we have an apocalypse to deal with here!" barked Neluun. Draggo charged up on the draenei and stared him down.

"Look, I don't care if you don't like me, but you _will _do what I say. Frin is out there and after hearing this, I don't think I want him out there by himself. He could be doing something that could jeopardize this entire operation, so get out there and find Frin, **_got it!?_**" yelled Draggo. Neluun scoffed, spit on the ground, and stormed off.

"Any other objections!?" yelled Draggo. No reply.

"Good! The sooner we find Frin...the sooner we can save the world." said Draggo. Everyone spread out into the woods in separate directions.

"You got to teach me how to do that." Drake whispered to Draggo before heading off into the woods.

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Frin was dashing through the woods praying he didn't run directly into a herd of hungry gnolls. Frin quickly came upon a large clearing where trees had been smashed and the land scorched. He was on the right track. Frin was following the trail when a large grayish clawed hand reached out from a bush and smacked the gnome, sending him soaring into a rock. Frin looked up to see a wrathguard with his axe raised above his head. Before Frin could scream in fear, a voice halted the demon.

"Halt minion." came an all too familiar voice. The wrathguard put his axe to his side and stepped back. Nal stepped forward and stood before Frin. His appearance had become even more ghastly. His skin had become dry and flaky with cracks breaking out everywhere. His eyes had become completely black and two hard stubbles had appeared on his forehead.

"Frin, my old friend, what brings you here? Still trying to stop me?" laughed Nal. His voice was tainted with a demonic presence.

"Nal, I know what you're trying to do…" Frin said. A strange courage began to surge through his body as he rose to his feet.

"Oh really?" said Nal in an amused fashion.

"Yes. You're trying to summon Sargeras with Ghal'Rok'Gar and that pendant and bring him to Azeorth."

"Very good Frin! You always were so smart!" giggled Nal sarcastically.

"I only have one question…Why?" asked Frin with a commanding presence.

"Does the reason really matter? Either way, my Lord _is _coming." replied Nal.

"…It has to do with Izzy doesn't it?" said Frin. Nal's pleasant demeanor drifted away and he approached Frin quickly with a look of scorn.

"What did I-"

"What Nal, you think you can bring her back somehow? Is that what you 'Lord' promised you?" said Frin. Sudden;y, Nal's guard fell. His face no longer seemed tainted by evil. His expression actually seemed...soft, caring, and even sad.

"Frin…Please…You are my best friend…Understand the pain I'm feeling…When Izzy died I died too. When He told me that He could bring her back to me…Frin, I don't care the cost, even if it is only for a second I must see her. Because of our past relationship, I offer you this: join me. It will be like the old days. We will be promised power in the new world…Frin…Please…" pleaded Nal.

"No Nal. It's wrong and you know it…If Izzy knew what you were doing…She would be disgusted with you." said a said Frin. Nal's gaze landed upon something behind Frin. His human demeanor reverted back to a demonic presence.

"So, once again you try to kill me? Well although it truly pains me, I see I must deal with you in the only way possible."

"Nal, what're you-" before Frin could finish, Nal lifted his arm and a large clawed shadow hand erupted from his robe and gripped Frin by the throat. Nal then lifted the shadow hand into the air.

"Nal stop! Remember Izzy! Please!" gasped Frin as he flailed about in the air.

"Don't worry old friend. When my Lord walks upon the land of Azeroth I shall ask him to bring you back along with Izzy. Then we can all live together happily. It will be just like the good ol' days" said Nal in a sadistic tone. Frin began to howl horrifically as his eyes began to melt from the inside out. Fire erupted from his eyes sockets and flames bursted from his mouth. His innards began to gush from his mouth in a combination of blood and ash. His skin began to glow and spouts of fire pierced through his skin. He was being burned from the inside out.

Nal dropped Frin to the ground and let Frin roll around frantically before becoming a smoldering skeleton.

"You there…In the tree…You can not hope to stop me." laughed Nal. Drek'val froze in terror as Nal glared at the tree Drek'val was hiding him. Nal lifted his hands into the air as the ground around him became black. Several black portals shot up from the ground. Brutish dreadlords piled out howling viciously followed by muscular pit lords.

"Exterminate him." whispered Nal before he proceeded north. The demons seemed to smell the troll's fear and charged for him. Drek'val's only choice was to run, but he was going to have to fight his way through the demons.

The first pit lord to reach the tree swung it's massive sword, cutting the tree into two pieces. It began to slowly fall off to the side. Drek'val swiftly equipped his fist blades and soared out of the tree. He pulled the trigger on his right fist blade, firing the blades outward. The blades penetrated one of the thick hides of the pit lords who didn't seem to notice. Drek'val pulled the trigger again and the chain pulled the troll towards the monster. It swung at him, but Drek'val summoned a wall of earth to protect himself.

Once he was on the beast's back, Drek'val engulfed his fists in flames and began to viciously hack away at the monster. In the process, hemanaged to hack off on of the monster's wings. The pit lord howled in agony. Another pit lord swung it's bladed lance at the troll, but Drek'val jumped into the air and the wind safely brought him to the ground as the pit lord severed it's brethren in two. Several dreadlords charged upon Drek'val. The shaman was able to defend their blows for several moments, but their strength began to overwhelm him. He quickly summoned a lightning bolt down from the heavens that blasted away the dreadlords in a sudden surge of energy. While they were briefly incapacitated, Drek'val began to burn the dreadlords with elemental fire

While the shaman was destroying the dreadlords, A pit lord began to approach from behind. Drek'val could feel the earth trembling and quickly encased himself in an earth caske. The dread lords blade shattered the earth and sent Drek'val soaring into a tree, leaving a large hole in the wood. The troll feel out on one knee and panted heavily. He was a powerful shaman to be sure, but he could not face this power alone.

Another pit lord was charging at Drek'val. He had to escape now or suffer the wrath of the demons. Drek'val fired his fist blade at the branch of a tall tree and pulled himself up just as the demon's blade smashed into the earth. Drek'val continued to fire his fist blades at the trees swing from branch to branch. Before long, the dreadlords were soaring behind him, snarling and speaking in a demonic tongue. They could fly much faster that he could swing and were crushing the branches he was using as support. One dreadlord smashed a branch that Drek'val was already attached too, causing the troll to plummet down to the ground and crash to the earth. Drek'val mustered all of his strength to try and pull himself up, but to no avail. His limbs couldn't do it.

He rolled over onto his back and looked up. Though his vision was fuzzy he could see the dreadlords slowly descending upon him. He could also feel the ground tremble as the pit lords approached. He thought it was over but a large brown figure soared through the air and tackled one of the dreadlords. The others were about to attack the brown figure when a similar purplish figure assaulted another on of the dread lords. In the confusion, two loud explosions boomed through the forests and two dreadlords were sent flying backwards.

Drek'val managed to make out the two large figures as bears, only these bears had a rather odd appearance; one with horns, and one with odd shaped ears. He knew there was only one explanation: druids. Tygra and Fenron were in brutal combat with the dreadlords, claw versus claw, fang versus fang. Drek'val saw another bear that seemed to be an average bear only it was donning strange armor and two large objects on it's sides. He then realized Longshot was barreling into the battle, Betsy's cannons blazing.

Longshot charged Betsy at an oncoming pit lord who was galloping at the dwarf, roaring the entire way. Longshot fired several large cannon shots at the pit lords, leaving large bloody holes in the beast's chest, but the demon didn't slow for second. When Betsy and Longshot were in range, the dwarf launched himself up into the air and Betsy dodged the blade that smashed into the ground next her. Longshot soared onto the demon's head and jammed his gun deep within it's skulls. He then began to release several powerful shots into the beasts skull until a hole blasted out of it's head on the opposite side. Another pit lord was charging at the dwarf to avenge it's fallen brethern. Longshot pulled out another gun from his back and held down the trigger. A series of continuous powerful bullets barreled into the beasts head, completlet destroyin the top portion of it's head and leaving it as a blood mess. Longshot leaped off of the pit lord and landed on Betsy as the two demons crashed on the ground behind him.

Soon after the rest of the group arrived and vanquished the remaing demons. Draggo flew down to Drek'val on Frostwing when the battle was over and pulled him to his feet.

"How are you?" asked the concerned orc.

"I'll live on…Sadly I can't say the same for Frin…" said Drek'val in a solemn tone. He led the group to Frin's remains. By now there were only charred bone and dust. A sadness overcame both the Horde and Alliance members. Drake approached the remains and whispered a quick prayer for his fallen companion.

"May you rest in peace and the Light watch over you Frin…" Drake whispered as he rose to his feet. Draggo approached the remains and knelt down.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way my friend… Your death will not be in vain…" snarled Draggo as he began to stomp off towards Frostwing. It was time. Nal had to be pay ofr this.


	13. The Battle At The Portal

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE: **this chapter is basically to give the story a little bit of it's lost spice. Basically, the majority of the chapter is fighting. Everything between the X's are just fight scenes. Everything else I would advise reading. Also, there are probably going to be some minro spelling errors but just disregard them. I promise the real story picks back up in the next chapter. Sorry if these chapter seems a little pointless, but regardless I hope you enjoy!)

Chapter 12: Battle At The Portal

Draggo and Drake's group raced through the forest with great haste. They had to reach the portal to the Emerald Dream before that nefarious warlock Nal did. When they arrived, several large demons patrolled the immediate area. Two large green dragons were sprawled across the ground, their bodies savagely mutilated. Fenron and Tygra cringed at the despicable sight. Standing before the portal stood Nal. He was channeling a black energy at some vines that were keeping the portal closed.

"Nal! I'm going to was my blade in your blood!" hollered Draggo as he swooped down ahead of the group towards the gnome. Nal turned back for a moment, acknowledging the orc, and then returned his attention to the portal.

One of the pit lords nearby threw himself between Nal and Draggo, soaring upwards at the orc. Frostwing latched his fangs onto the pit lord's throat and bit down hard, blood gushing from the wound. The pit lord roared angrily and began to pry the dragon from his throat. The demon managed to rip Frostwing from his neck and grip him tightly in his hand. The pit lord then raised his mighty lance and swung it down at the dragon. Draggo reacted quickly and blocked the blow with his shield. Harnessing his anger, Draggo took out his blade and slashed off the demon's hand, dropping him and his dragon to the ground. Draggo quickly got to his feet and ran past the shocked demon towards Nal.

Draggo roared and leaped at the gnome. The image of Frin's smoldering corpse resonated through his mind giving the orc a surge of near supernatural strength. When Draggo attempted to slay the gnome, Nal quickly turned and held up his hand, a small black barrier acting as a shield. Dragons Strike clashed against the surface, a combination of blue and black energies swirling around the wall and blade in a maelstrom of power. Ultimately Nal shoved his hands forward and knocked Draggo back.

Before Draggo could get up, a wrath guard was approaching the orc with axe held over his head. The demon brought it down, but Draggo managed the grab the blade with his hand, his plated armor taking the brunt of the blow. He then gripped the blade tightly and yanked the demon to the ground and climbed on top of the stunned demon. His fists bombarded the demon's face like a meteor shower of anger and fury. The bladed edges of his gloves slashed and crushed the demon's face into an unrecognizable mass of bloody remains. Draggo rose to his feet to see more demons encroaching upon him. He quickly began to grab his shield and sword, but a sorcerer standing several yards behind him blasted him from behind with a spell, sending the orc to the ground and his weapons soaring. His only form of defense were his fists.

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The rest of the expeditionary group had already begun to battle the demons that initially guarded the portal. Drake was the first to notice Draggo's predicament.

"Quickly, someone get to Draggo!" called out Drake as he looked around the battlefield. Everyone was occupied with fending off the demons. He knew if he had any chance of saving his friend he would have to slay every demon between him and Draggo.

Drake was in a battle with two large dread lord brutes. They assaulted the young paladin with a flurry of unrelenting claws and nefarious shadow attacks, but the paladin managed to persevere. One of the dread lords lunged at Drake with it's fangs bared menacingly; Drake responded by impaling the demon with his sword. The demon seemed unaffected and pushed itself through the blade, grasping Drake by the throat. It lifted him up in the air, an easy target for the other dread lord who was already charging at the defenseless human.

Before the demon reached him, a blast of light fell from the heavens and knocked the demon to the ground. The blast had come from Sylvia, who had been standing nearby. The dread lord quickly began to rise to it's feet and charged at Sylvia. The priestess was not specialized for battle, but for support. She blasted the demon with spells, but they couldn't even slow his advancement. Sylvia looked in horror as the beast approached her growling viciously.

Drake summoned the light as a golden ray of light erupted from his hands, temporarily incapacitating the demon holding him. Drake ripped himself from the demon's grip and then ripped his sword upwards out of the demon slicing it in half. He quickly turned and ran for Sylvia. He protected her with a shield of light just as the demon launched a shadowy spell at Sylvia. The spell sizzled on the surface of the shield before evaporating. Drake soared through the air with his sword held high above his head. He landed on the ground, plunging his blade into the chest of the demon on the way down. The sword began to grow brilliantly as Drake surged the Light through its blade. The demon howled in agony as light erupted from his eyes and mouth. The demon was then obliterated into a hazy mist.

"Stay close to me, Sylvia. Back me up and we'll get through this!" ordered Drake. Sylvia was shocked at the tone of his voice. The once calm and tact Drake had become a commanding heroic general.

"Uh,, y-yes sir." gasped Sylvia. Drake nodded and charged back into the fray Sylvia close at his back.

Nearby, Kataya and Crether were surrounded by sorcerers. Each demonic magister's hands were engulfed in some kind of mystical entity. The demons fired their spells sporadically. Kataya was a powerful mage and could counter any spell known to the mortal realms and then some. Crether was as swift as the northern winds, and just as elusive. His skillfully drifted across the ground like a specter of death as he executed the sorcerers mercilessly.

Crether was fired at from several different directions by sorcerers. He quickly dropped a small bag on the ground causing a smog to shroud the rogue. When the spells collided within the smog, the black smoke was blown away showing nothing…not even remains. Crether appeared behind one of the sorcerers and sliced the spell caster into bloody chunks in mere seconds. More spells darted at Crether, but the rogue leaped out of the way. While suspended in the air, Crether spun his body around, launching throwing knifes at the ministers. The spinning blades dismember the sorcerers, quickly bringing them to their demise.

Crether killed several more demons before one of the sorcerers latched onto his back and dugs its claws deep. The rogue brutally jabbed his blade into the demon on his back, but the sorcerer was determined. While Crether was distracted a rain of fire fell upon him. Crether began to burn, along with the sorcerer, who was keeping the rogue grounded. Crether managed to rip the spell caster from his back and soared into the air out of the flames. Crether was reaching for more knives when a shadow spell hit the rogue in mid air. Crether dropped to the ground with an intense thud.

Kataya let out an annoyed sigh and then faced the demons who were circling her and chanting. Kataya clenched her fists momentarily as flames began to burst from the creases of her fingers. When the mage opened her fists, two torrents of flames bellowed at, shooting outward several feet. Kataya spun around, roasting the sorcerers two slow to cast a spell to protect themselves. One of the demonic sorcerers countered with a fire spell of it's own, but the sorcerer was outmatched. As the flames reached Kataya, she gracefully caught the flames in her palm and twirled it around, tossing it to her other hand. The flame was redirected and sent back at the sorcerer with twice as much power. A large wall of darkness interpolated itself between the demon and the flame, but the flames exploded on contact, taking the demon along with it.

Kataya was firing a combination of fire, frost, and arcane spells, when several sorcerers began to chant in unison. Kataya was concerned and saw the demons making odd hand gestures. Suddenly, the demons chanting howled and the ground surround Kataya turned black. Tentacles of shadow shot out from the ground and wriggled in the air before attempting to wrap themselves around the mage. Kataya twirled to the left as the first tentacle missed her barely, then she pivoted right, this tentacle close enough to cut off some of her hair. Kataya quickly acted as she noticed she would not be able to avoid the third tentacle. She encased her fists in sharp jagged ice just as the tentacle reached her. She sliced it at the tip, forcing the tentacle to recoil as if it were in pain.

Kataya snickered for a moment, reveling in her victory before one of the other tentacles wrapped itself tightly around the mage. Kataya's eyes began to glow white as arcane energy began to resonate from her body, pushing the tentacle off, but the shadowy figure was relentless. It only tightened it's grip. Kataya looked on in horror as another tentacle came in for the final blow.

Before Kataya could meet her demise, Crether intervened and glided through the air, awaking from his stupor only moments ago. His blades shredded back and forth through tentacle, chopping it down to pieces that evaporated into a black haze. Kataya created a large arcane bubble around herself and finally broke the tentacles titanic grip on her. The mage landed gracefully next to the rogue who was cautiously watching the crowds and what remained of the tentacles.

"Thank you for the assistance my ally…" said Kataya in an almost suggestive and sensual tone. Crether merely replied by staring at her blankly. Kataya frowned for a moment and then studied the crowd.

"Hold on!" ordered Kataya as she grasped Crether's wrist. Kataya blinked the two high into the air, avoiding several spells fired upon them by the sorcerers. Kataya engulfed herself and Crether in a floating bubble of arcane energy and began to chant words and twirl her hands. Kataya recited the last words of the spell with emphasis as a large arcane symbol appeared on the ground around the sorcerers. Before the demons knew what hit them, arcane energy erupted from the symbols lines, eradicating the sorcerers. Kataya sloppily brought the bubble to the ground as she and Crether stumbled out of it. Crether turned to the mage who was breathing heavily, exhausted from the immense spell.

"You do good thing…" rasped Crether in a distant voice. Kataya merely grinned as she attempted to get to her feet.

Drek'val and Neluun were two fierce shamans. Although Drek'val had not had time to fully mend his wounds, he was still a powerful adversary. His fighting style was very unique. His fist blades were released as the blades lay on the ground, connected to his fist by a chain. Using his troll like dance moves, Drek'val swung the blades around in a flurry of dancing blades.

Several brutish dread lords were storming at the troll when Drek'val began to nimbly glide across the ground. Drek'val called upon the flames to accompany him in his dance of death. One by one, the demon were charred and dismembered. More demons began to assault the troll, but Drek'val was prepared. The shaman raised a totem from the earth that engulfed itself in flames. Suddenly, a large flaming elemental crept forward and threw it's hands in the air. Before the demons could assess the situation, the elemental was bustling through the crowd, smashing and burning the demons. Drek'val looked over his shoulder at Neluun and snickered in a snide manner.

"Real shamans come from da Horde." chortled Drek'val. Neluun was not impressed.

Neluun began to spin around at monstrous speeds, gathering up the air around him in a cyclone. The shamanistic tornado cut through the crowd with winds strong enough to slice through flesh. Neluun ceased his attached and looked around. Many demons were dead, but more were alive. Four dread lords hurled themselves at Neluun, but the draenei lifted himself high up on the air. A thundercloud began to form above him and his eyes glowed like lighting. A bright flash of electricity surged from the thunder cloud, striking Neluuns large crystal mace like a lighting rod. Neluun came down like a meteor smashing his might hammer into the ground with immense power. Electricity surged out around him, zapping all of the demons surround them. A large crater surround the draenei, electricity still surging through his body. Neluun slowly turned to Drek'val, his eyes still sparking.

"You know nothing of being a true shaman you mongrel." bellowed Neluun. Drek'val snarled as his chain wrapped around the neck of a demon and severed it's head.

Fenron and Tygra were both in bear form staring down their opponents with Longshot mounted ontop Betsy his hand on her canons. Tygra initiated the battle. She pounced onto a nearby dread lord and began to tear away at its pale dry flesh. The demon attempted to rip the druid from his body, but Tygra was a monster. A nearby wrath guard swung his sowrd at Tygra's back hoping to get an easy kill, but Fenron grasped the blade within his jaws and snapped it in two. The demon snarled and swung his other blade at Fenron. He sidestepped the attack and knocked the demon to the ground with one powerful swipe of his paw. Longshot began to fire the cannons into the oncoming crowd of demons. The explosions blasted groups of demons into the air.

Betsy's cannons soon ran out of ammo and Longshot quickly began to reload the large projectiles into the firing chamber. He was quickly alerted to oncoming danger by a cautious growl from Betsy. Longshot turned and saw a wrath guard with a large broadsword held high over his head. Longshot reached for the gun on his back. He realized he didn't have enough time to get a shot off so the dwarf simply blocked the attack with the large blade attached to the end of his blade. The force of the blow knocked the dwarf from his mount onto the ground behind Betsy. The bear roared in distress and attempted to retrieve her master, but she was soon overrun by demons and was forced to focus her attention on her own safety.

Longshot was lying on his back using all of his strength to hold off the demons blade. The demons black eyes wrapped themselves around the dwarf attempting to force him to abandon all hope, but Longshot was more resilient than that. His dwarves pirde is what he used to keep himself alive. Lonsgot reached for one of his side arms, a powerful pistol and placed the barrel on the demons forehead.

"Nighty nigh ya dirty scoundrel!" chuckled Longshot as he blasted the demon off of him. Longshot quickly jumped to his feet and looked around. Large burly demons towered above the dwarf, but once again, he was not intimidated. Longshot began to spray bullets across the the wall of demons, slaughtering many of the murderous beasts. Whenever one would come close, Longshot would roll out of the way of their attacks and cut them down with the blades he had attached to his weapons.

During one of his close encounters a abnormally large dread lord smacked Longshot's rifle from his hand. Longshot attempted to grab his other rifle, but the dread lord pumped his wings, causing a guts to knock Longshot on his back. The dread lord leaped at longshot and thrust his long gruesome nails at the defensless dwarf. Longshot spread his legs out, barely avoiding the long claws of the demons that tore through the earth like a drill. Longshot quickly ripped two pistols from his leg holsters and began to blast the demon with a flurry of large high powered bullets. The dread lord stepped back and faltered slightly, but soon regained his composure and roared at the gnome that was causing him a large deal of frustration.

"Persistent one arent ye!? No worry, I be havin something special for you!" said Lonsghot in a near sadistic tone. Longshot emptied the clips from his pistols and reloaded his guns with a special large red bullet. Longshot was beginning to aim his pistols when the dread lord thrust his arm forward firing a large shadowy blast of demonic energy at the dwarf. Longshot dove to the right, avoiding the blast and firing a shot from both of his pistols. The red bullets bolted through the air and exploded upon impact, leaving a large gaping hole in the demons chest. The dread lord snarled before collapsing onto the ground.

"C'mon! I'll kill the whole lot of ya, ya bloody bastards!" antagonized the dwarf as he began to blast away at more demons.

Meanwhile, Tygra and Fenron were deep in combat. Tygra had reverted to her feline form and was a divine beast of death. Her sleek an majestic appearance contradicted her ferocity. The two druids were hacking away at a group of demons when two portals burst from the ground. The druids looked on in anticipation as large demonic hell hound creatures stepped out snarling. The demons were voracious looking creatures with jagged spikes lining their back and exceptionally long fangs and teeth. Their pelts were blood red and their eyes were a deep ominous white. The monsters roars' echoed throughout the forest as they charged the druids.

Tygra roared just as voraciously and pounced onto one of the demons. The two engaged in a duel of fang and claw, evenly matched. The hell hound managed to get on top of Tygra and wrapped its mandibles around her throat. Tygra moaned in agony, feeling the demons fangs protrude deep within her neck. Fenron charged over and smashed the demon with his large horns, removing him from Tygra. Tygra painfully rose to her foot and saw the Fenron had his own troubles. Three hellhounds were latched onto him and clawing away at his flesh. Fenron savagely attempted to beat the hounds off of him, but they were determined to shred the druid to pieces. Tygra began to assist her partner and tear away at the demons latched onto Fenron. The two druids eventually managed to remove all of the hounds from Fenron, although both had been weakened.

In the fray, the druids had managed to kill several of the hounds. In the end, it was Tygra and Fenron versus four hell hounds. Each side roared as the two charged each other and dug their claws and fangs into their foes' flesh.

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Drake looked over the crowd of demons encroaching upon him and Sylvia to see Draggo, still engulfed by demons. The orc was still fending off his demon's with his bare hands. Frostwing flew over head growling in distress due to in its inability to assist his master.

Draggo heaved heavily as he glared at the demons who all had sadistic grins sprawled across their faces. Draggo's ears caught the sound of foot steps from behind. Draggo pivoted around and caught a blade of a wrath guard just before it collided with his head. Draggo grabbed the sword with both hands and swung the demon around knocking down every demon iin a five yard radius of his body. He then slammed the wrath guard onto the ground, leaving him as a broken heap. Draggo felt a sharp pain surge through his leg as he fell to the ground. Another wrath guard had smashed it's axe into his leg. Draggo fought through the pain and swung his arm at the demon's legs, knocking it flat on it's back. Once the demon was incapacitated Draggo leaped on top of the demon and unleashed a shower of power packed hay maker punches onto the demon, smashing it's armor like rotten fruit. While Draggo was getting to his feet a dread lord delivered a powerful blow. Draggo's helmet was knocked clean off of his head and Draggo soared backwards crashing onto the ground.

Injured and exhausted, the orc attempted to get to his feet, but he soon found himself being lifted in the air with the dread lords hand pulling him up by the top of his head. Draggo began to wind up for a punch, but more demons quickly restrained the orc from attacking the dread lord. It was over. He was defeated.

The dread lords face was contorted in an odd way due to his malicious grin and sadistic expression. The demon whispered something in demon tongue before tightly squeezing Draggo's head. Draggo was a proud and strong warrior. He did not plead for his life nor did he scream and cry in agony. He merely glared at the demon with anger as he endured the pain. He would not give this demon the satisfaction seeing him squirm

Suddenly, the demons tight loosened and his malicious grin turned into an angered snarled. Draggo could faintly hear a high pitched whistle as the dread lord winced strangely. A sharp, jagged, well crafted arrow burst through the dread lords chest forcing the demon to growl in pain. Several flying daggers followed instantly killing several of the demons restraining Draggo. With their power over him diminished, Draggo burst from the demons grip and smacked them away like meddlesome flies. Draggo then ripped the arrow from the dread lords chest and thrust it deep into it's skull. The dread lord snarled and hissed something in demon tongue before falling on his face. Several other others were protruding from the dread lord's back. Draggo looked beyond the crowd of boisterous demons and saw three figures: a troll a blood elf, and an orc. The orc and the blood elf were charging into the crowd while the troll stayed back and fired arrows into the crowd.

"Father! Hold on! Help's on the way!" called out the orc. He threw one of his swords over the demons heads and into Draggo's hands. Draggo sneered almost sinisterly as he turned to the crowd. He poised himself for combat before charging head on into the crowd.

Blade in hand, Draggo soon fought his way back to his sword and shield. The weapons seemed to revitalize him. Draggo took his revenge upon every single demon, cutting them down like worthless cattle. Draggo met his son and the elf in combat.

"Defiant as ever I see. Couldn't follow your old man's orders and stay home?" said Draggo in a fatherly tone.

"Don't start with me dad. We both know I just saved you from you demise." chuckled Draggar.

"True, but how many times have I had to pull your ass out of the fire?" asked Draggo in a triumphant tone. Draggar remained silent.

"Well, you wouldn't be a Dragonblade if you always did things by the books. C'mon. Let's clean this place up." snarled Draggo as he charged back into the army of demons.

Within moments, Draggo, Draggar and Haldamir had cleared out the demon force guarding Nal. Behind them, the rest of the group had managed to kill their demons as well. Draggo began to charge the gnome ready to rid the monstrosity from the world when a bright green flash burst from the portal. Draggo covered his eyes from the brilliant lush light. When the light died down Draggo uncovered his eyes and gazed upon the portal. A swirling green mass of energy swirled like a whirlpool within the marble structure. Nal cackled manically as he turned to face his adversaries.

"Behold the power that is the Burning Legion! We will not be stopped! We can not be stopped! The Legion will conquer all!" boomed the demonic gnome. A black shadow crept out from under Nal's feet and zipped across the earth like the shadow of a fish under the water. The shadow then reached the dead dragons that had once protected the portal and wrapped itself around them The dragons were absorbed into a black orb like object and lifted into the air. In an instant, to horrific beasts burst from their shadowy wombs.

Though the creatures resembled dragons, they were mere shadows of their former selves. Their verdant scaly skin had become coarse, black, and rugged. Their eyes were but shadows, one being unable to know what they are looking at. Their wings were torn and broken, but somehow the monsters managed to keep themselves suspended in the air. Twisting menacing spikes erupted from their bodies, particulary around their heads.

"What have you done to them!?" cried Tygra at the sight of the travesty that had befallen the dragons.

"I transcended them. I brought them to their…potential…Do not fret. You shall all soon meet your true potential…Whether it be in life or death!" sneered Nal as he began to walk towards the portal. Draggo roared in the aggravation of Nal's arrogance. He took up for his final charge upon the gnome, but destiny would once again intervene. One of the shadow dragons dove down and crashed onto the pedestal between and Nal and Draggo. The beast roared, but made no move.

"Finish him…" hissed Nal as he entered the portal. A moment later, the monster was charging at Draggo, it's mouth lined with voracious drooling fangs wide open. It smashed one mighty paw down that Draggo managed to block with his shield. The shadow dragon continued to beat down on Draggo until he was caught off guard by the other shadow dragon and was knocked back several yards. Draggo painfully pulled himself to his feet as his allies surrounded him.

"Rest Draggo, you're in no condition to fight these behemoths. Leave this one to us." ordered Drake. Draggo proudly ignored Drake and stood tall gripping his weapons tightly with unwavering resolve.

"No. As long as the taint of that bastard Nal flows courses through these poor souls veins' I will relinquish them of their curse…For Frin's sake." grumbled Draggo as he staggered to the front of the warrior.

"Father stop! You once told me a wise warrior knows when to fall back." pleaded Draggo as he placed his hand firmly on his father's chest holding him back. Draggo looked into his son's eyes with a look that Draggar had never seen. For the first time in Draggar's life, though he had known the towering mass of muscle and power as a kind gentle soul, he saw his father as such a harsh soldier. In the deepest confines of his minds there was even part of him that feared his father in that moment.

"A never said I was wise warrior." grumbled Draggo. Even Frostwing he was nearby seemed to grumble at his master's brash action. Draggo stared down the oncoming shadow dragons and charged. He released a determined howl with his allies at his back. They had to kill these shadow dragons as quickly as possible. The longer the dwelled here, the closer Nal got to obtaining the final piece of Ghal'Rok'Gor.


	14. Demonic Duo

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry it's been awhile, I've been busy. Anyways here is the next installment. Please excuse the wait and enjoy.)

Demonic Duo

Draggo was between the two dragons, keeping on eye on them both as they circled him. Before they could attack, a large stream of fire fired by Kataya streamed for them. The monsters easily avoided the attack and soared into the sky. Within moments, the dragons were diving down with fel fire spurting from their mouths. The group of warriors huddled together as the dragons came down from either side. Drek'val and Neluun each created a wall of rock to protect the group from the fire. The dragons crossed paths before ascending into the skies once again.

"So what be the plan? Dragons be hard enough to kill without them runnin on demon juice!" said Longshot as he tried to get a lock on the dragons.

"Stick together! It's our only chance! When they get low, try to find a way to ground them!" ordered Drake.

The squad huddled together once again as the dragons started to descend. The monsters stopped short and hovered above them roaring viciously. Their wings become engulfed in shadow and a rain of shadow bolts crashed into the squad. They group skillfully maneuvered out of the way of the blasts but were forced to scatter. The dragons took this opportunity to attack. They landed on the ground and attacked the group with claws, tails, fangs, and wings. Longshot, Fenron, and Crether were all incapacitated by the attack. Drake, Draggo, and the others began to maintain their composure and attack the dragons successfully, forcing the dragons to take flight once more.

Before one of the dragons could make it into the skies, Drek' val fired his fist blades at it's tail and wrapped around it tightly. Then, calling upon the spirits of the earth, wrapped his body in rock, anchoring the dragon to the ground. The dragon quickly took notice to the troll's interference and veered around, flying straight for the troll with a murderous look in it's eyes. Drek'val held steady though he was shook to the core with fear. Before the dragon collided with the troll, Tygra charged into the side of the dragon in bear form with just enough force to make the dragon glide past the troll.

The sudden jerk and change of direction caused Drek'val to be ripped from his earthen casing and dragged along the floor before the dragon pulled him up into the skies, Drek's blades still dug into his tail. Draggo quickly took notice to his friend's distress and called Frostwing over.

"Kataya, come with me! I need your help!" shouted Draggo. The mage teleported from where she was standing onto the saddle secured behind Draggo just as he took off into the skies.

Drek'val was dazed from the force of being ripped from the earth and the speed of the flight. The dragon was circling in the skies unaware of it's passage. It's partner, however, had seen the troll and was chasing the other dragon's tail in the hopes of a mid-battle snack. Draggo was nearby, tailing the dragon as it snapped at the troll's feet. Draggo pulled up next to the dragon and looked back to Kataya.

"Kataya, get his attention off of Drek!" hollered Draggo. Kataya nodded, though she was extremely agitated by the high gust winds from the speed they were traveling and all of the wings around her flapping. It was terrible for her focus. Regardless, Kataya channeled her mana and fired large blasts of arcane energy at the side of the shadow dragon's body. Initially, the beast was unaffected and continued to snap at the troll, but soon, the dragon angrily turned towards the mage. The dragon did a barrel roll, smacking Frostwing with it's massive wing sending the proto drake tumbling out of control. Draggo steered his companion back on track and took to the dragon once more.

"Keep it up! I'm gonna try to get Drek this time!" said Draggo as he pulled up to the shadow dragon once more.

"I can't keep this up! I'm not trained for this kind of thing!" complained Kataya. Hearing only silence from Draggo, Kataya grunted and fired another arcane blast.

It took only one to infuriate the beast this time. The monster slowed down, allowing Frostwing to soar ahead of it before picking up speed and tailing him.. The shadow dragon fired a variety of shadow blast, fel fire balls, and other ghastly projectiles at Frostwing. Kataya created an arcane shield around Frostwing's rear blocking him from the attacks, but her magic was no match for the mighty attacks of the shadow dragons. Her shield quickly began to wane and flicker.

"I suggest you save our troll friend quickly, I don't have enough mana to keep this up." grunted Kataya, wincing from every blast her shield took. Draggo focused on catching up with the dragon holding Drek'val. He was quickly pulling up next to the troll. Drek'val was still slightly dazed, but was able to understand what situation he was in. He tried relentless to remove his fist blades and pull the chains back into his weapon, but it was no use. They were wedged too deeply and all of the pulling had damaged the chains causing them to jam.

"Cut dem off!" cried Drek'val as he flailed about in the air. Draggo was only a few inches away from Drek'val now. He removed his sword and raised it in preparation to slice the chains. Before Draggo could pull up next to Drek'val's chains, The dragon pulling Drek'val noticed the commotion going on behind him. Draggo saw that the dragon was begging to loop around and charge for him, pulling Drek'val further from him.

"One more hit and my shield's done!" screeched Kataya, feeling faint from focusing so much energy.

Draggo roared in frustration and pushed Frostwing to speed up just enough to catch up with Drek'val. Draggo sliced the chains in one swift chop, forcing Drek 'val to fall from the skies.

Just as the chains were cut, Kataya's shield broke, causing the mage to faint and the dragon behind them sped up to a mere couple of feet away while the dragon in front was dashing through the air on a collision course for Frostwing. Each shadow dragon released a horrid blasts of chaotic black energy out it's mouth at Frostwing from the front and the rear. Draggo forced the drake into a nose dive causing the dragons above and their spells to collide in a catastrophic explosion. Draggo could feel the force of the explosion above him as he dived down trying to reach Drek'val before the troll reached the ground. The bodies of the dragons were in hot pursuit as well, both two large piles of demonic meat falling from the skies.

Draggo swooped under Drek'val and glided into the thicket of the forest while the shadow dragons crashed into the ground, drilling into the earth. The squad approached the crater cautiously and gazed upon the corpses of the beats. Their already decrepit forms had become contorted and broken from the fall. A black ooze leaked out from their wounds and corrupted the earth around them.

"Well, that takes care of that." scoffed Neluun.

"It's a shame this is the fate destined for these green dragons." sighed Fenron sorrowfully.

"One more reason to take our revenge on these malicious demons!" growled Tygra, enraged by the further loss life due to Nal.

"Damn demons…Make all this bad happen…" whispered Crether. His sanity seemed to be slowly regaining control of his body.

"Quickly, we must enter the portal before it closes again." said Drake as he began to walk towards the altar. Suddenly, the two dragons released a piercing howls that shook the entire forest. Everyone nearby toppled over in agony from the shriek.

"Damn bloody demons don't know when to give! That's alright, I'll shut 'em up!" grumbled Longshot as he hopped on top of Betsy and fired large explosive shots into the hole. The dragons took no notice the wounds caused by the bullets, they only shrieked more.

"This is not good. We should leave now…" murmured Sylvia as she gripped her staff tightly. A black mist shrouded the dragons and began to slowly grow. The size grew larger and it grew faster. The entire group became alarmed.

"Everyone, to the portal! Draggar, bring your friends, quickly!" hollered Draggo as he flew over to the portal with Kataya and Drek'val seated around him. The squad dashed up the stairs as the cloud began to spread like a plague corrupting everything around it. Then, in an instant, the cloud withdrew, and expanded in a shadowy explosion. Everyone leaped into the portal as the explosion stretched out towards them. Draggo, Drek'val, Kataya, and Frostwing were the last ones to jump through the portal just as the explosion reached them.


End file.
